


182 Days of Blues

by the_forgotten_ghost



Series: Tales from the 182 Days of Blues-universe [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Anxiety, Blood, Bruises, Budapest, Disney Songs, Doctors, F/M, Green Day - Freeform, Hospitals, Nurses, Optimus Prime - Freeform, Overprotective Tony Stark, PTSD, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Scars, amputations, implied nightmares, implied past sexual assault, injuries
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-11
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2018-03-07 03:10:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 40
Words: 84,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3158999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_forgotten_ghost/pseuds/the_forgotten_ghost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This story contains action, violence and mature themes as well as foul language, anxiety and mentions of death(s), but there will also be humor and lighter themes as the story continues and the plot matures. If you don't like to read about such themes, feel free to pass this story, thank you.</p><p>Everyone else who are reading and following this story, I'd like to say thank you for your support, and thank you for bearing with my slow writing pace, real life is sometimes a hassle and has a tendency to keep me away from my laptop and away from my writing hobby.</p><p>I don't own Marvel and its characters (still), Marvel stole my heart when I saw the first X-Men movie.</p><p> </p><p>  <i>love, </i></p><p>  <i>ghost</i></p><p> </p><p>  <b>[ edit 03.10.: so, yeah, I have recently joined the Wattpad community, you can find me from there too, my username is the same as here, the_forgotten_ghost ]</b></p><p>  <b>[ edit 04.10.: I have started to edit this story (again), so the chapter number one has just been remastered!]</b><br/><b>[ edit 29.10.: chapter 40 has been posted! ]</b></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Blues

Prologue: Welcome to the hellhole

All stories – those long, Tolkien-like sagas which may take us into epic journeys through distant worlds, and short, delightful ones which may make us wish there was more to come – has to have a beginning, and this story is no different.

Our story begins from a small, cubical shaped room where no daylight has ever find its way. The floor, the ceiling and the four walls were made out of solid concrete, and there was no doubt that the whole structure was reinforced with iron rods cast inside the concrete when the whole damned (oh, it was _so damned_ ) facility was build.

This lovely little room, from where our story starts, was also blessed with distinct coldness with a earthy whiff of moldiness sprinkled into the mix in order to give the place a very unwelcoming, very _hostile_ , aura. 

There was a door to the room that was made of sturdy metal, and whoever the person was who had fabricated the door _ages_ ago, had decided to paint it with very dark shade of blue. Over the course of several years, the paintwork had started to slowly crack and chip off, offering a much welcomed growing surface to the blood-red rust which now bloomed and flourished here and there, and like an artist, it too created beautiful patterns onto its preferred canvas.

Someone, with an odd sense of style, had once decorated the room with a metallic sink and a matching toilet which were located opposite of the sturdy door. To complete these bathroom furnishes, there was a broken down mirror (there were really only a couple of shards there) planted onto the wall over the sink. Mounted securely to the right side wall – if the viewer was looking into the room from the doorway – one could find a narrow bench which was trying _really hard_ to resemble a working bed, yet it failed at it quite miserably.

 

All-in-all, anyone who had happened to see the room in person, had instantly deemed it to be a horrific, inhospitable _hellhole_ , where no-one should _ever_ spend _any_ amount of time if there was a some kind of another option to pick from.

Yet, there had once been someone, one very unfortunate soul, who had no other options left than to try and survive inside the room that was pictured above, and who had to spend day after day with the knowledge that there were no-one who could come and open the door; no-one who could put an end to the misery that had lasted for one-hundred and eighty-two days straight.

 

And today, just like any other day before, the inhabitant of the _cell_ sat curled up in the far left corner of the cubicle, trying so desperately to become as small and as unnoticeable as it could with the tiny amount of energy it still had left from the morning visit of its two unfriendly guards. The prisoner was only a shallow memory of the human being which it used to be before it had been caught and brought into the nightmarish place, where the guards and other less friendly people tortured and abused their prey in order to get information out from the poor being. The morning visit from the guards was only a start of the days events, and the shadow of a person could only hope and pray that its hosts wouldn't add yet another method of interrogation to their already long list.

But, little did the prisoner knew, that the day would soon become more scarier and distressing than it had already been.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

ch. 1 : Blues

Wrapped inside a thin, ragged blanket, you were shivering – out of cold and out of _fear_ – the fabric unable to keep your diminishing body heat from escaping. You sneezed painfully, feeling how your lungs started to riot again, your eyes starting to water when the dry coughing fit build momentum inside your lithe being. You tried in vain to stop the loud hacking noise, but there really wasn't anything you could do about it, you could only pray that no one would hear you through the walls and the heavy door, you _really_ didn't want to think about what the guards would do if they were able to hear you.

You had decided long ago to try and stay as quiet and small as you possibly could, at the situation where you were forced into, one of the reasons being that you feared the two guards who were put in charge of your uh, _wellbeing_. You kind of didn't want them to hear that your health had taken a dip from bad to worse, since, yeah, _they weren't nice people_.

You shuddered violently and your eyes were watering with the force of the cough, and you tried your very best to stabilize your breathing. You would have done anything to make yourself feel and look healthier, the main reason being that _the guards were going to visit you later today_ , the people from _the room_ at the end of the long hallway had made a wicked schedule for that.

After another shudder, you tried to swallow very, _very_ carefully, but your mouth was dry as the great Saharan desert, and you absolutely hated to drink the water from the sink. It had a metallic aftertaste, and if that wasn't bad enough, it kind of smelled funny too.

 

Your coughing fit ceased for now, you carefully extracted your left hand from under the blanket and ran it through your dirty, short, ruffled-up hair. Many months ago it had been longer and shinier with natural waves, before one day, the taller guard had roughly cut it with scissors before shaving it off completely with a razor (it wasn't even a new one, btw). You recalled wistfully that the colour of your hair had once been shimmering auburn, the shade bending more towards brown than red, a beautiful, eye-catching gift from your late mother. You let out a sigh as you thought that now the colour was probably nearing pitch black for the lack of regular showering. Suddenly, an involuntary shiver shook you to the core when your fingers connected with the long scar, located approximately two inches up from your left temple, an ´accidental´ cut made by the _asshat_ who shaved you bald.

_”It's been six months... doesn't take more than month, maybe two if I'm lucky before I die in here...”_ you thought and sniffled out of cold while pulling your arm back under the cover. You weren't tearing up even as the thought about dying alone in a hostile place like this crossed your mind, actually, now that you thought about it, you hadn't cried for a while, not since the last time you were hauled into _the room_ at the end of the hallway, which happened approximately two months ago. There was a downside to the fact that you weren't crying anymore, since when your guards noticed the lack of tears, they had started to use new, more violent methods against you in order to force you to cooperate with them, though you had started to suspect inside your mind that your guards were only trying to keep themselves entertained ( _asshats_ ).

 

You wrapped your arms around your knees as you slightly sucked your lower lip between your front teeth before carefully trailing your tongue over the stinging cut of which you had gotten in the morning. After a while, you sighed quietly and started to categorize some of your most recent injuries onto the growing list inside your head. There was a new, open wound on the left side of your lower lip; you tasted metal in your mouth when you poked the general area of the said wound with your tongue. You extracted your left arm from around your knees and gently touched your left cheek with your cold fingers, and after ending your careful examination, you had come to a conclusion that nothing was broken, _luckily_ , but you were hundred percent sure that there was going to be a hefty bruise decorating your face before the day was over.

You sighed as you pulled your hand back under the blanket, and you wrapped your arms tighter around your legs when your thoughts started to trail (unintentionally) from the injuries of your face downwards and towards your lower body. You shuddered when your mind reminded you about the feeling that was located between your thin legs, and you tried to quickly force the incoming thoughts away the same desperate way you had tried, and failed, every day for several months now.

 

You shivered for the hundredth time and tried to wrap the blanket tighter around your frame, but you stopped still when you suddenly heard how _someone was walking behind the door_. You lifted your arms over your head in a flash in order to gain as much shelter as you possibly could. You felt how the cold tendrils of fear started to crawl outwards and upwards from your stomach, wrapping around your frantic heart and lungs, forcing you to breathe quicker and shallower like so many times before when a new panic attack was rolling in.

_”Not again... Please,_ not again _...”_ you begged frantically inside your head as you tried to curl up into a tighter ball, when all the sudden, you noticed through the haze that there were _more_ than two pairs of shoes clacking against the floor behind the heavily locked door.

_Had they got a new guard?_

_Was he about to do the same as the other two guards did to you every single day?_

Your mind was racing with frantic questions, but your internal panicking was interrupted as the key turned in the lock and the door was being kicked open violently, allowing the bright light of the hallway pierce through the darkness that occupied your cell 24/7.

 

You kept your grey eyes tightly shut whilst trying to prepare your already sore body the best you could in order to take the upcoming beating from the trio, except, that it didn't happen this time. At least, not yet.

”Hey there, our idiotic little friend! You're still alive, eh? Anyhow, you got yourself a roommate, how fun is that! You two play nice now!”

You recognized that the loud yelling belonged to the taller guard and then you heard how someone was pushed inside your cell. The door was slammed shut, the bright light was gone again, but the horrible laughter from the two guards still echoed through the metal before one of them turned the key in the lock, securing you and your ´roommate´ inside. You kept yourself absolutely still while hoping madly that the newcomer wouldn't have already spotted you.

 

”Fucking _assholes_! I will destroy _all of you_ when I get out of here!” your roommate (a man, you recognized) yelled pointlessly towards the firmly locked door.

”Fuckedy fuck... First the fucking _Vanko_ -episode and now _this_...” the man cursed to himself, and with a heavy sigh, sat down onto the narrow bed. He rubbed the bridge of his nose before running his hand through his hair.

”Wait a second... I have a _roommate_ here?” he said to himself, sounding surprised, like he had just realized what the guard had said a moment ago.

 

You remained absolutely silent and unmoving, feeling too terrified to take even a deep breath, but after a couple of heartbeats, you felt (to your great dismay) how the pressure deep inside your partly clogged nose started to rise with rapid pace. You shut your already watering eyes against the painful, prickling feeling that had suddenly emerged from somewhere and had lodged itself tightly inside your nasal cavity. Ultimately, all of your best efforts turned pointless in the instant when the escaped sneeze tore through your sore body, leaving your ears ringing and your head bounding for what felt like an eternity, but was actually only a half a minute. Your whole body was shaking like a leaf in the wind whilst your hands and arms curled more securely around your head in order to protect it against at least the first hard blows that might be coming, sooner or later.

”Um, bless you?” the man said, sounding unsure about where the sneeze had sounded since there was _no way_ he could have seen anything in the darkness, right? At least you _hoped_ he couldn't.

”...T-thanks...”

The careless whisper was out before you even had the chance to restrain yourself, and it took you only a millisecond to realize that the stranger could now easily locate your whereabouts and aim all of his frustrations onto your person if he wanted to. You subconsciously gnawed at your injured lip with your teeth while you waited for the first attack to begin.

”Uh, are you alright, buddy? 'cause you sound like you might be sick.” the man asked worriedly, making you question your hearing, because, seriously? He was _concerned_ about your _health? Like, what?_

You didn't answer to his inquiries, opting to keep your mouth shut instead as you sniffled with some effort a couple of times. You thought, (a tad too late, perhaps) that _maybe_ it could have been a good idea to drink some water from the faucet when a sudden burning feeling flamed inside your throat, forcing you to almost cough your lungs out of your chest. And as you tried to gasp air into your burning lungs, you faintly heard through the loud bounding inside your skull how the man stood up from your pitiful bed before he took a step towards you.

 

_”H-how he can see me? It's pitch black in here...”_ you thought frantically after you had somewhat tamed your lungs again, and after another shiver of coldness had ran through your body. You were keeping your eyes tightly shut and your arms around your head, but you still sensed how the man had moved closer to your corner. A sound of fabric rustling near you caused you to flinch involuntarily, but if only you would have opened your eyes to actually _look_ at the man, you would have realized that he had only lowered himself into a squatting-kind of position next to you. The man had situated himself so close to you that you were able to smell the cologne he wore, and that realization made you to think that maybe your roommate didn't have the two important skills called self-preservation instinct and a sense of personal space of which a regular person obtains early in their lives.

”How long have you been in that corner?” the man asked, sounding more and more concerned, but your only answer was to curl up into a little bit tighter ball. He sighed and observed your figure silently for a while.

”Okay... so, uh, do you have a name, buddy?” your companion asked after a while, and finally, though you still felt unsure, you opened your eyes a fraction. Your retinas were instantly greeted by a bright, shimmering blue light that happened to glow through your companion's dark shirt. You stared at the light with fully open eyes as you felt more than just a little dumbfounded about the weird phenomena.

”I... t-they call m-me idiot i-in this place...” your voice came as a rough whisper as you lowered your arms slowly from over your head and back around your legs. You received a small amount of security whenever you hugged your legs as close to your body as it was physically possible. The more hopeful side of your brain was quick to toss out a thought, that because this man hadn't made a move in order to hurt you, then maybe, just _maybe_ , he could actually be _trusted_.

Or, then again, this could also be a trick to make you careless enough so that the people in _the room_ at the end of the hallway could use _new methods_ when they were trying to force you to talk about your family, like they had been trying and failing since the very beginning. You realized that aspect and tried to curl into a tighter ball again.

 

”Well, that's not a proper name, isn't it? I am Tony, and given the circumstances, it is somewhat _nice_ to meet a friendly person in this hellhole.” the man said and flashed a smile to you while simultaneously sticking his right hand towards you. You stared at him and were convinced that he didn't have the self-preservation instinct _at all_. After a couple of seconds, you unwrapped your right hand from around your legs and extended it ever so carefully towards the man called as Tony, carefully, because you wanted to keep the overly long sleeve from rolling up at any cost. All of your current clothes were too big for your emaciated frame, thanks to your ´hosts´, who remembered to feed their ´guest´ a bit too randomly.

”B-Blues.” you whispered and quickly pulled your hand back to you after you two had shook hands.

”Blues? Okay, well that's a better name. So, how long have you been in this place, if you can tell?” Tony asked. You pulled your right hand back under your blanket and after wrapping it around your legs, you freed your left hand and ran it through your hair, an action which made Tony wonder about it inside his head.

”...S-six months, I-I guess.” you answered, your voice still barely audible with a distinct roughness caused by a seriously bad cold.

”What?! _Jesus_ , that's a long time. _Why_ , and more importantly, _how_ , did you end up here in the first place?” Tony said, feeling seriously disturbed about the information. You swallowed hard and shook your head, unwilling to tell him anything. Tony observed your curled up figure silently before he sighed.

”You know what? I may not be a doctor, but I still think it's better for you to sit on that bed than to sit on an ice cold concrete floor.” he said, stood up and took few steps back in order to allow you some space to lift yourself up from your corner. You looked at him warily before sucking your injured lower lip into your mouth as a nervous habit. Then you slowly cranked yourself up from your defensive stance, but before you could even stood straight, you winced hoarsely as pain shot through your left thigh, and then when you grabbed it with your left hand, you accidentally smashed both your right side and the right shoulder against the wall. You were whining quietly just when Tony appeared onto your side.

 

”Here, buddy, let me help. We walk nice and slow over there...” he said while he gripped your left arm gently into his hold and you two walked – well, he walked and you limped – to the bed and then carefully helped you to sit down on it.

”Do they even serve any food here at this five-star hellhole? 'cause you buddy, you are _thin_ , dammit, I've seen supermodels who's got more mass over their bones than you.” Tony said, half joking as he sat down next to you. You remained silent for a second as you tried not to shudder at the thought of the latest ´food serving´ you had received from your ´hosts´.

”...T-the food t-tastes bad a-and the water t-tastes like m-metal.” you said quietly while rubbing your left thigh as gently as you could with both of your hands. Tony observed what you were doing and then asked:  
”Did those bastards hurt your leg somehow?”

You sniffled out of coldness again and shook your head slightly.  
”N-no, not exactly, t-there's few loose s-screws that I c-can't reach.” you answered and then realized what you had just said and felt like your whole body froze over.

”Uh, what?... Screws...? As in...? _Please_ don't tell me your leg is a... is a, uh, _prosthetic_ one?” Tony asked in disbelief and you ran your now even-shakier-than-usual left hand through your hair again while sucking your lip nervously, the metallic taste only intensifying.

”...It is, isn't it?” he then asked as he had taken in notion the pained expression on your face. You let out a shaky sigh and reached to pull up the thin fabric covering your left leg in what had to be a some form of a autopilot.

 

Tony was kneeling on the floor in front of you faster than you could have uttered your feeble protest, yet he was only examining your artificial leg with his sharp eyes in a way that would have made you blush any other time and day if you wouldn't have been so malnourished and more than likely, anemic.

”This is, just, _wow_ , and you can actually _walk_ with this? How it's even _possible?_ Can you take it off? And how far up does this continue?” he bombarded you with questions and you saw how he obviously wanted to touch your leg, it shone from his face almost as brightly as the blue glow shone through his shirt. You knocked your thigh over your knee with your right hand and a metallic _cling_ was being heard. Tony first looked confusedly at your leg and then at your right hand.

”A-all the way up to m-my knee a-and around s-six inches up to m-my thigh. A-and I can't t-take it off, t-there's a b-bundle of nerves going t-through it.” you answered honestly with your quiet voice and Tony looked up at you surprised.

Tony then looked at your right arm that was covered with the extra-long sleeve and a realization hit him, _hard_.  
”A leg _and_ an arm?” he wheezed out and you wrapped your arms around yourself protectively, letting the fabric of your pants fall back to cover your leg.

”...Left l-leg, right arm, right s-shoulder blade, three r-ribs from my right s-side and my e-entire spine.” you listed quietly without looking at the now shocked man in front of you. Tony blinked a couple of times before he turned his gaze from your face to regard your leg, and a thoughtful expression dawned onto his face.

 

”You said there were few loose screws _inside_ your leg?” he asked then and you nodded.

”Can I see it again? I might be able to tighten them if they are reachable.” Tony said and you turned your head to look at him, feeling more than a little cautious about his offer.

”I swear I won't hurt you.” he said seriously, and after a few moments of careful thinking and an intense staring-contest, you lifted the fabric of your pants again. Tony reached his right hand behind your calf and lifted your leg off from the ground gently and delicately, and as he went on with his examination, he kept in mind that you had told him there went _actual nerves_ through the prosthetic and the last thing he wanted to do, was to break the promise he had just made.

”Dammit, I don't have anything to tighten up the screws, there really is a couple of loose ones, just like you said.” Tony said defeated as he had lowered your leg back where it belonged and was now scratching at the back of his head. You sucked your lip and started to roll up the sleeve of your right arm, and by doing so, you drew Tony's gaze onto your arm instantly. You pressed down and slid a couple of small metal plates of your artificial arm under other plates, and soon, you had uncovered a shallow cavity where one small screwdriver rested, fastened partly under a bundle of different coloured wires. You started to carefully fidget the screwdriver out from its place, and when you succeeded, you handed the device to Tony, who accepted it with awe.

”That's handy.” he said oh-so-intelligently, and upon realizing what he had just blurted out, he darted his eyes to look at you, pure mortification showing off from his expression. Undoubtedly he felt horrified at his own insensibility, but you could only feel amusement as you chuckled quietly.

 

”D-dad and I j-joked about it a-all the time.” you admitted while a hint of a smile made its way onto your face, making Tony look a bit more relieved.

”Still, I am very sorry about that, sensibility isn't one of my traits, you can ask about it from pretty much anyone I have ever met.” he said, sounding genuinely apologetic as he started to tighten one of the screws located inside of your calf. Both of you then stayed silent as Tony concentrated to fix your leg and you sucked your lip again as you were nervously watching him working.


	2. The Mechanic

”Right, okay, try to move around now.” Tony said while lowering your leg down after he had deemed his work done. You heaved yourself up from the bed, first balancing your weight onto your uninjured (though wobbly) leg whilst trying to build up the courage to actually test the now fixed prosthesis. Tony moved aside in order to give you some space as you started to add more of your body's weight onto the other leg, concentrating on keeping the pace slow so that if there was still something wrong with the leg, the resulting pain wouldn't crash down on you _that_ hard.

Your new friend watched your every step intently as you made your way towards the sink, all your movements being tentative and slow at first. When you reached the sink, you turned around, fixed the blanket more securely around your shoulders before taking the few steps back to the bedside. You had to admit it to yourself, after your short walk, that your left leg hadn't felt this good in _months_ , your limping had lessened considerably while taking in notion that the distance you walked hadn't been very long.

”Does it still hurt when you walk?” Tony sounded concerned when he voiced the question that was burning inside his mind, but when he saw how you shook your head a little, some of that concern managed to decrease a fraction.

”No, it's b-better, thank you.” you said gratefully while offering him a small smile. You felt kind of surprised that you had spoken the truth to this man, to this _mechanic_ , the main reason being that you had been adamant to keep your current wellbeing to yourself because of how badly your captors were _already_ treating you, thinking and believing that _very bad things_ would happen to you if you were to show (and tell) as to how much in pain you truly were.

 

Tony gave you a smile while feeling relieved that he had succeeded in his task. He was playing with the tiny screwdriver – probably not even realizing it – turning it around in his hands before he suddenly stopped what he was doing. A thoughtful expression fell onto his face as he eyed at your blanket-wrapped form.

”You know, have you ever tried to escape from this place?” Tony asked with a quieter voice, making you to stop your movements rather jerkily as you were attempting to adjust the blanket higher up onto your shoulders. You quickly shot your now widened eyes onto the man before you – just as quickly – averted them to stare at the heavy metal door, feeling how panic and fear were starting to swirl inside your gut, causing a violent shiver to rack your body unannounced.

”I-I...” you started, but were unable to answer right away due to a fear-amplified stammering. Tony waited patiently as you took a couple of deep breaths before you were able to continue, your voice sounding thin and strained:  
”T-they didn't feed m-me in a week w-when I tried it.”

Your eyes were still nailed onto the door as you were _waiting_ if someone had heard Tony's question and if that someone was going to barge in all the sudden and haul you back into _the room_ again, and the thought of it all made you to subconsciously pull the blanket tighter around your shivering frame.

 

Tony just stared at you, feeling horrified, before he muttered quietly to himself:  
”Fucking bastards.”

You sucked at your wounded lip absentmindedly after giving a tiny little nod at Tony's words. A couple of heartbeats later, a sad sigh sounded and you finally turned your gaze from the door and onto the mechanic who was standing near the narrow bed. Tony was absentmindedly tapping at his chest with his free hand, the blue glow flashing through the narrow gaps that his fingers created while his other hand was resting against his hip while still clutching the small tool. He let out another sigh before he returned his attention back to you as he had been staring at the broken mirror above the sink, lost in his thoughts. Tony stilled the hand against the glow upon seeing that you were watching him a little bit warily. He then extended the hand that held the screwdriver towards you and you took a silent step towards him before taking the tool from his now open palm.

Tony then watched with interest as you slotted the small tool back into its preferred place while the blanket draped over your shoulders threatened to come loose. After sliding the metal plates back into their designated places so that they covered the shallow crevice once again, you quickly and efficiently fixed the blanket around your body for what had to be the hundredth time today. But despite your best efforts to keep your body heat inside the thin fabric, you started to shiver more noticeably, causing Tony to sigh silently. He quickly glanced behind himself before he sat down at the other end of the bed.

”You know, you can come over here and sit down, you're just gonna make yourself feel even colder if you're just standing there.” Tony said, patting the place next to him, and you gave him a calculating look before you shuffled to sit down onto the other end of the bed.

”So... I have been thinking... that these _assholes_ here kidnapped you for a reason, probably because of your _amazing_ prostheses, and then they shot _me_ down and dragged me here because I have the arc and the suit...” Tony thought aloud whilst thrumming his right hand fingers against the blue glow again. You glanced at him surprised, and your eyes widened almost comically when your brains had finally pieced together everything he had said:  
”A-are you – uh, are you, T-Tony Stark? T-the _Iron Man?_ ”

You asked, your voice just above a whisper, the disbelief and hope evident in your voice and in your expression, and the man in question flashed a grin to you.

”Yes, I am, the one and only.” Tony said and you just blinked at him silently. You felt quite overwhelmed, to say the least, and after a quick glance towards the door, you quietly asked from him:  
”D-do you know w-where your suit is? Is it – uh, is it somewhere n-near?”

 

Tony looked at you confusedly and when he answered via an intense rambling, there was a bitter tone in it (though it was not projected towards you):  
”Yes, a couple of these _asshats_ actually dared to use _crowbars_ while they were trying to get it off of me, can you believe it? Then when they had taken it off – I _honestly_ don't know how _the hell_ did they manage to do it in a first place, since they disabled Jarvis with some sort of a fucking _EMP_ before they trucked me here after _shooting me down from the sky_ , anyway – they squirreled my suit somewhere, I don't know, _out of my sight_ anyway, and then this Laurel-and-Hardy-duo came along and brought me here, with you.”

You stayed silent for a moment, just looking at the opposite wall and thinking that maybe the suit had been moved to _the room_ which you knew all too well. You swallowed hard at the mental image that popped out of nowhere before you quickly turned your attention towards your right arm. You started to roll up the sleeve, exposing the metal to the coldness of the cell again and drawing Tony's attention towards you. This time, you started to push and slip down _different_ plates than before, desperately trying to locate the right things you needed to use if you wanted your newly formed plan to work. You muttered quietly under your breath when you remembered two very important things; the first one was that there had been this one time when your dad had told you how easy it was to modify a cellphone so that you could make a free satellite-call to another person who lived at the other side of the world, and the second thing was the fact that how he had _actually managed to install the same operating system inside your metal arm!_

”D-dammit dad, you w-were a _genius_...” you breathed out as you carefully disconnected the ends of two blue wires from their respective fittings and repeated the same procedure with two red wires. You then connected the different wire ends and flinched involuntarily, all the while Tony was watching at you and your doings with growing sense of confusion. You coughed dryly and stopped all of your movements in fear of having another coughing fit that could be heard all the way outside of the cell. After an anxious minute had passed and you had heaved couple of deep breaths, you continued to slid open another few metal plates from your upper arm. You sucked your lip harshly before you pushed a tiny red button located inside of your upper arm and which you had just revealed from under the metal casing.

 

”What on earth are you doing...” Tony wondered quietly while his brows were furrowed in an attempt to get a hold of what you were trying to achieve. Instead of answering to his question, you flinched again as you reached under the previously connected wires and unplugged a green wire from its hold.

”Awh _damn_ these n-nerves...” you winced and took a fortifying breath before connecting the green wire to the red and blue stack of wires. A handful of white sparks flew up from the stack and Tony stared at your arm now with awe.

You took another few calming breaths and sucked your lip harder before you pushed the tiny button of your upper arm again, praying that your modifications would actually work. The whole arm lit up, glowing pure white light from the seams, and a small console with numbers and letters rose from inside your arm with a barely audible _whirr_.

”W-wanna get out f-from here?” you asked quietly with pain-laced voice as you tilted your head to look at Tony. You had known that it _would_ hurt when you started to modify your arm, but you hadn't remembered just _how much_ , and now, well, you were trying your best to stop your body from shaking uncontrollably because of the pain you felt. You knew that the main nervous system went _too close_ to the console, but you had been determined to at least _try_ out the idea that had started to form inside your mind upon realizing who your cellmate was. If only the Iron Man suit would be within the range now...

”...Are you really saying that you can connect with my suit from here?” Tony asked with quiet yet excited voice.

”W-well, I don't know the right c-connection codes, I-I kind of hoped you would k-know.” you said and noticed how Tony had gotten a really wicked grin over his face.

 

* * *

 

Few _very_ hectic minutes later, there was a huge hole in the wall where the blue door once was, guards were laying either dead or unconscious on the floor at the hallway, the door to _the room_ at the end of the hallway laid crushed against the floor while the bashed ceiling lights flashed randomly inside the room. And Tony, well, he was actually _marveling_ his handiwork while simultaneously wearing his suit. He was standing in the middle of the long hallway and when he signaled to you that the coast was clear, you crawled out from under the bed where you had gone hiding when the action started. But admits the chaos that ensued when the suit, uh, _returned_ to its rightful owner, you had managed to hear how Tony shouted an order to someone to make a call as quickly as it was possible.

You finished closing the last few metal plates while making your way towards the hole that had once been a proper doorway, and when you stepped through the debris, you had to narrow your eyes before you lifted your other hand to shield your eyes against the bright hallway lights. Tony turned his still helmet-clad head to look at you when he heard you approaching him, and he almost couldn't _believe_ his eyes now that he could actually _look_ at you in a proper light. And as you were looking around the hallway, Tony was staring at your figure and he couldn't help but feel sorry for you.

A large, hand shaped bruise littered your left cheek, your lower lip was split and swollen, and if _those_ weren't bad enough, there were also several dried bloodstains coloring your outfit, and _those_ were the things Tony could actually _see_ , dammit! (as a side note, his skin would have definitely crawled even more horribly if he'd been able to see under your loose clothes as your skin was bruised even more badly from several different places, older and newer scars from various sources laid scattered here and there and the burn marks from the cigarettes of which your guards smoke, well, they formed almost like _constellation patterns_ across your back and front.).

 

”Blues...” Tony said quietly as he lifted his faceplate up and stared at your figure in disbelief.

”Y-yeah?” you turned your attention onto the man instantly before wrapping your arms around yourself in a defensive manner while also gnawing at your lower lip in a feat of nervousness. You missed having your blanket wrapped around your body as it laid forgotten on the floor of your cell, and for a few desperate seconds, you pondered around the idea of retrieving it back.

”Um, yeah, I was wondering if you would have any kind of safe place where you could go or return to?” Tony asked and you extracted your better hand from around yourself before running it through your hair as your eyes followed the hallway to there where _the room_ was located at.

”I-I don't know, probably n-not, I – I don't have any relatives I k-know of a-and my parents have p-passed away.” you said quietly while looking into _the room_ , and when the lights flickered to illuminate the place once again, your heart skipped a beat when you noticed how a small, steely table with wheels laid knocked down near the open doorway. You had to quickly avert your eyes before your panic could have started to grow bigger. Tony hummed thoughtfully to himself before nodding:  
”Well, I'm willing to present you an option here; you can come live under my roof – the house is at Malibu – for _at least_ as long as you can find your own place to stay. Soo~, what do you say, deal?”  
Tony said bluntly and you stared at him in disbelief.

”I...” you didn't know what to say, Tony's offer was more than generous, but he was _still_ a complete stranger to you, but in the other hand, you really didn't have a place to go. The house where you grew up was destroyed when you had been taken from there by the very same people who had held you captive over the past six months.

”...O-okay.” you said after few silent moments had passed, and Tony smiled relieved and extended his gloved hand towards you.

”Great! Now, I think it's the time we officially, dare I say, _log out_ from here?” he asked and you offered him a small smile of your own before you shook his hand. Tony then carefully wrapped an arm around your waist and let the faceplate fall back to shield his face. You tried to hold onto him as tightly as you could, and you shut your eyes tightly as he used his free armored hand to blast down a couple of walls before he made a large hole onto the ceiling above one of the crumbled walls. The two of you were airborne in no time.

 

* * *

 

The distance between you and the horrific facility was growing steadily, and after a while, when there wasn't even a roof to be seen anymore, Tony spoke:  
”Jarvis?”

”Yes, sir?” Tony's A.I. answered inside the helmet.

”Would you make the call to Pepper now and tell her that I'm fine and that we are going to get a visitor, erm, probably a long term visitor I think. And also, I don't want this incident to come out in the public, you know, _at all_ , only the Director Patchy from S.H.I.E.L.D. can get _some_ of the details from this whole mess, and that is, if he asks nicely.” Tony spoke and glanced down onto you briefly. The strong wind around the two of you picked at your clothes, and your short hair looked like it had its own will, and Tony thought that it must not feel all that nice to travel outside of the suit while he was using it.

”Very well sir. Anything else?” Jarvis responded and Tony turned his gaze to look forward again before answering:  
”Yea, we need tons of food. No, seriously, _tons of food_.”

Tony's A.I. confirmed his request and the rest of the flight back to Malibu was spend in silence.

 

Tony saw from a distance how Pepper was waiting on the landing pad outside the mansion, she was wearing a grey pencil skirt and a matching blouse and her hands were wrapped around her upper body in order to battle against the chill wind. Tony started to lower you two towards the landing pad carefully, and it didn't take long before his feet touched the asphalt, the impact jostling you only a little.

”Okay buddy, we're here, you are in a safe place now.” Tony said to you after he had slipped the faceplate up, and you cracked open your eyes while still clinging to him like you had done ever since you two had escaped from the facility. You extracted yourself from around the armor and lowered yourself down to stand on your wobbling feet just when Pepper was approaching the two of you. You wrapped your arms around yourself, partly because of how cold you felt, and partly because the action granted you a smidge of comfort while making you feel a tiny bit more protected. The rough surface of the landing pad started to bite annoyingly onto your bare right foot, and you resisted the urge to shift your position with some difficulty.

”Tony, are you alright!?” Pepper asked worriedly and stopped to stand in front of you and Tony.

”I'm doing alright, Pep, but I'm not sure about him, though.” Tony answered as he lifted his entire helmet off and moved to hold it under his left armpit. Pepper eyed your appearance and you noticed how her face paled a little as her eyes widened with shock.

”Gods...” Pepper breathed out quietly. You sucked your lower lip in between your front teeth and tried to slightly peer over Pepper's shoulder towards the house, feeling more than just a little awkward, and frankly, cold (oh god, you felt _so cold_ ).

”Blues, this is Pepper, she is the CEO of Stark Industries and also, my girlfriend. Pepper, this is Blues, my, uh, _former_ ´roommate´ and our guest for an indefinite period of time.” Tony went on with the formalities and then gestured that the three of you should maybe start heading inside the house.

”Hello.” Pepper said and gave you a small, but friendly, smile and a head nod.

”H-hey.” you said quietly and nodded a little too.

”Pepper, could you please check if we have anything better for Blues to wear other than his current outfit?” Tony asked from Pepper after your group had gotten inside the mansion. His suit had been removed automatically when he had started to walk towards the building (which was hella cool), and now you all stood in what seemed to be a spacious living room.

”Of course.” Pepper said to Tony before he left you two alone in the room while he himself quickly walked towards another room, promising to return with an icepack as soon as he could locate one from the kitchen. Pepper then turned to speak to you:  
”If you would like, I could also prepare a bath for you, Blues.”

Pepper looked at you with a kind expression showing off from her face, and you couldn't help but wonder how nice and caring people they both were. You nodded and said quietly:  
”Please.”

 

After giving you a reassuring smile, Pepper went to carry on her tasks, her now shoeless feet carrying her towards the stairs. After a short moment, Tony emerged from the kitchen carrying an ice cube filled damp towel with him.

”Here, hold this against your cheek.” Tony said as he handed the package to you, and you nodded and pressed it carefully against your left cheek.

”So... I have been meaning to ask you... That did those asshats hurt you somewhere else other than your face?” Tony asked quietly as he eyed your appearance again. You swallowed silently and kept your eyes locked onto the large fireplace which wasn't lighted at the moment, before nodding slowly.

”What did they do?” Tony asked then, feeling more and more concerned by each passing minute.

”...W-well, they uh, they kicked at m-my back and sides, they burned m-me with cigars a-and...” you listed quietly, but then stopped when you felt how your throat tightened, and you just couldn't get the last sentences out. Tony looked at you with wider eyes and then asked, although he wasn't quite sure if he _wanted_ you to continue:  
”...They did something else too?”

You swallowed hard as you worried your lip while opting to stay silent.

”Blues?” Tony implored quietly after another moment had passed, a horrible thought was already forming in his head, but he _needed_ to know if it was just that; a thought, nothing more. Because, if his suspicion was right, he would go and bomb the whole damn facility straight down to hell as soon as he could put on the suit.

 

”...I – I was being stubborn, I g-guess... For not t-telling them w-what they wanted t-to hear... S-so they... T-they tried to f-force me–” you spoke quietly before a sudden coughing fit made you to stop abruptly. Tony hurried back to the kitchen, feeling angry and nauseous about what you had experienced. He returned quickly with a glass of water and a painkiller which he handed to you.

”T-thank you.” you managed to whisper before you swallowed the medicine down with a large gulp of cold, _fresh_ water.

”Alright, Blues, there's a bath waiting for you in our guest room upstairs, it's located at the left hand side of the hallway right after the stairs; I left the door open so that you know where to head, and there's also a clean set of clothes on the bed of which you may use afterwards. Feel free to take as much time as you may need in order to make yourself feel comfortable, there will be food waiting in the kitchen when you feel ready.” Pepper spoke to you when she had returned from the upstairs soon after you had downed the last of the water from the glass.

”T-thank you.” you thanked her before you lowered the glass and the ice pack onto a nearby table.

”Oh, and if you need assistance on something, _anything_ , there's Jarvis around the house who is more than willing to offer his help, right, Jarvis?” Tony said as you were about to use the stairs, and you stopped to look back at Tony and Pepper, a question forming in your mind, but you didn't get a chance to voice it, when:  
”That is correct, sir.”

A voice sounding from seemingly out of nowhere said and your eyes widened slightly before you took a cautious step upwards in the stairs.

”R-right...” you said quietly before you continued your journey to the upstairs when the voice had quieted down and when you had seen how Tony and Pepper had been heading towards the kitchen.

 

You stopped at the landing after the stairs and quickly spotted an open door to your left. You stepped into the wide hallway and started to walk along it while gazing at the paintings and other memorabilia which were either hanging on the white walls or being placed onto several narrow shelves. 

When you reached the doorway and stepped in, you became stunned instantly because of the view opening before your eyes. The bedroom itself looked _enormous_ , and someone had decorated it with a _marvelous_ sense of fashion. Lush white carpets were circling the California King sized bed, which was located to the right side of the room with two small bedside tables. The comforter of the bed was deep silver of colour, and several different sized, midnight blue pillows were placed on top of the cover. On the cover, not far from the fluffy pillows, laid the clothes which Pepper had found for you. You closed the door behind you and started to make your way towards the supposed bathroom, all the while keeping your pace slow so that you could look around the luxurious room.

When you finally reached a closed door at the left side of the bedroom, you opened it and peeked inside. And yes, it was the bathroom, and yes, it was decorated as lavishly as the bedroom was. Warm, humid air rushed to greet you the instant you opened the door, and it made some of the tension ease from your body. You sighed heavily as you closed the door behind you, and when you saw the large bathtub at the other side of the room, you let out a disbelieving laugh. A mountain of white bubbles was threatening to spill from the tub and you could smell the aroma of the bubble bath Pepper had put on the water from there where you were still standing at. It was a scent that was meant to make a person feel calm and relaxed, and it did have a calming effect on both your body and soul.

The humid air was gluing your clothes against your skin, so, after taking a few steps further towards the tub, you started to peel them off, starting from your shirt first. You folded it onto the marble counter next to the sink before you shimmied your pants down. You folded them on top of your shirt and after a fortifying breath, you quickly removed your underwear and dumped them onto the pile of clothes. You then stood still in the middle of the bathroom, now completely bare, while the warm air made goosebumps appear onto your skin. You subconsciously wrapped your arms around your upper body, and then flinched when the coolness of your metal arm touched your warming skin.

 

Tony, albeit being a genius, had made a mistake at some point along the way when the two of you had been held captive, him referring to you now as a man instead of what you really, _truly_ , were. You weren't, in fact, a scrawny guy who had been held captive for half a year straight and who had been abused the whole time. No, as a matter of fact, you were a twenty-eight year old _woman_ who had had the displeasure to experience all that shit. You assumed, as you closed your eyes briefly before taking a deep breath, that it probably wasn't all that hard to assume your gender wrongly due to the fact that your clothes were several sizes too large, and what comes to your voice, well, anyone who has had a bronchitis at any point of their life probably knows how _low_ and rough one's voice can get. There was also the fact that neither Tony or Pepper knew you personally, the three of you had met only moments ago.

You took another calming breath while unwrapping your arms from around yourself before you took the few remaining few steps towards the bathtub before finally climbing in it. The warm water made you shiver in sheer contentment, and you leaned your back against the tub contently. You let your eyes close as you just relaxed in the warmth for a while. Couple of minutes passed before you opened your eyes again and started to scrub yourself clean with a new washcloth that hung on a small hook right next to the tub, starting from your right leg and continuing to your left leg, then you washed your front, your sides and your back and took a deep breath and sunk down under the water. You emerged back to the surface and lathered your hair, your face and finally, your arms. After washing yourself thoroughly, you unplugged the tub and hoisted yourself carefully onto your feet before turning on the shower in order to rinse yourself clean.

 _”Ahh, that felt sooo good...”_ you thought and sighed, turning off the shower and stepping out from the tub, and after you had wrapped a large, fluffy white towel around yourself and making sure it covered your chest area tightly, you exited from the now misty bathroom.


	3. Kira

You padded to stand at the end of the bed, and it dawned to you fairly quickly that you were in bit of an trouble right now as you stared at the clothes Pepper had set out on the bed for you to put on. Although they looked completely new, they also seemed too big for you to wear, and what was even more important, was that they were meant for men to wear. You sucked your lower lip into your mouth again as you tried to contemplate the situation you had fallen into.  
”Umm...”

Water was slowly trailing down from your wet hair while the silence in the room grew longer, and just as you thought about going back into the bathroom in order to fetch your old clothes, the voice from earlier pulled you away from your thoughts:  
”Excuse me for interrupting you, Miss, but may I be of any assistance?”  
Jarvis asked politely, and your eyes grew wider again and you tried to look around yourself in order to pinpoint the actual _source_ of the voice.

”I-I don't know, w-who are you e-even?” you stuttered, suddenly feeling very nervous as you tightened the towel around your body a little bit more.

”I am terribly sorry, Miss, for making you feel uncomfortable, it was not my intention. I am ´Just A Rather Very Intelligent System´, Jarvis, if you would prefer, and my creator, Mr. Stark has installed me in every room of this mansion, including the garage. I feel more than happy to be able to serve sir and Ms. Potts, and I will do my very best to aid their guests as well.” Jarvis spoke and you blinked and slowly nodded your head.  
”Oh... Okay.” you mumbled quietly, and Jarvis continued:  
”Now, I would like to repeat my inquiry and ask if you may be in need of any of my assistance, Miss?”

You looked at the clothes on the bed again and extracted your left hand from your towel to ran it through your wet hair.  
”I... W-well, my new clothes, t-they might not f-fit me.” you admitted quietly, and Jarvis asked:  
”Would you like me to inform Ms. Potts for your current situation, Miss?”  
”I-I, um... Y-yes, thank you.” you said and fidgeted with the edge of your towel.  
”Thank you, Miss.” Jarvis said politely and silence once again fell into the room, and you started to feel more and more nervous as the time went by.

* * *

”Ms. Potts, our guest would like to inquire some help with the clothes you had chosen earlier.” Jarvis informed Pepper and she turned her head to look at Tony. They were still in the kitchen and Tony had just finished telling Pepper about the conditions of the cell while they were preparing the dinner together.  
”I'd bet that they're too big for him to wear, he's nothing but skin and bone anymore, not that I would know how much mass he actually _did have_ before he had been dragged into that damned place.” Tony said as he wiped his hands to a kitchen towel, a thought about walking into the lounge bar to pour himself something soothing (maybe a tumbler of scotch), before he would start the difficult task of heating and boiling the pasta sauce without accidentally burning it, _again_. Tony swore he could still smell the aroma of burned tomato sauce lingering in the air sometimes, and it gave him chills every time.

”He really does look small, but I couldn't find anything smaller for him to wear, even with asking Jarvis' help and rummaging through your old clothes.” Pepper said after she had taken down a saucepan from the cupboard. She then handed the pan to Tony and turned to leave from the kitchen, but before she had gone through the doorway, Tony called after her:  
”Oh dammit, almost forgot! Hey Pep! Um, he might look a bit extraordinary, so whatever you do, please, don't panic, okay?”  
Pepper turned to smile at him, saying:  
”I think I have seen plenty of extraordinary by now. After all, I am with you.”  
Tony smiled at her when she had turned again to leave, but he hoped in his heart that his girlfriend wouldn't freak out that much if she happens to see their visitor's prosthetic body parts.

* * *

A soft knock sounded from the door, pulling your attention towards it from the unfit clothes that you had been staring at the past few minutes, and you tightened your hold of the towel subconsciously.  
”May I come in?”  
Pepper's voice asked from behind the door, and you swallowed nervously before you darted your eyes towards the door to the bathroom and back to the bedroom door.  
”I... Y-yes, I, um... I t-think I need some h-help.” you answered eventually, your previously gravelly-from-cold voice starting to sound more of your real, more normal voice now that the painkiller you had downed with the water had started to work. To your own ears, your voice sounded more softer than before, but you knew it would take some time before the cold would subside and you would sound like yourself again.

Pepper opened the door slowly and pretty much froze still in the open doorway when her eyes landed onto your figure. Her gaze was nailed onto your right arm, and you saw her eyes grow wider when they traveled upwards and landed on your right shoulder. You started to feel self-conscious about all of the markings laying on your skin, including the old scars as well as the more resent ones.

The silence between you two started to feel heavier in your opinion, and your breath almost caught in your throat when Pepper's stare swept across your towel-covered body and landed onto your left leg, covered only half by the white towel. All the bruises, burn marks and scars, redder and whiter ones, and the overlapping, painful-looking teethmarks lining your left shoulder area made the redheaded CEO feel horrified and sorry about what had happened to their visitor earlier.

”You have...” Pepper started, her shocked voice trailing off while she turned to close the door behind her. After turning back towards you and taking a step closer, she finally noticed how high your towel was wrapped and she realized the reason about why you were in need of her help.  
”Well, I think I understand now as to why you needed some help with the clothes, I didn't realize before that you are actually a woman and not a man.” Pepper wondered, her voice sounding kind and a little bit of amused, and you felt how your tension soothed down a fragment. You shrugged a little at her words while sucking at your lip silently and fidgeting with your fingers and the towel's edge again.

Pepper let out a quiet sigh and slowly walked over towards you, and as you noticed her moving, you felt yourself tensing up. Pepper stopped to stand in front of you and she wrapped her arms very gently around you and hugged you against herself. Her action made something in your mind crack and crumble, resulting all of your restraints to loosen up and making you bury your face against her left shoulder, and before you knew it, you were sobbing quietly against her grey blouse.

”There there... You are in a safe place now, Tony isn't going to kick you out to the streets and neither am I.” Pepper was talking to you with quiet, soothing voice, and you hesitated only for a brief moment before you wrapped your arms around her. She started to stroke your back gently with her free hand as the other was stroking at your head, and after a while, your crying had ceased into sniffling and you had started to feel slightly better.

”I have a feeling that Tony might get a heart attack when he realizes that you're not a guy after all.” Pepper said jokingly with a small smile on her face when she parted with you. You wiped your eyes dry using your left hand as your right one was holding your towel up. Pepper then eyed your appearance more thoughtfully and then nodded slowly.  
”I think my collection might hold more suitable clothes and undergarments for you to wear, and there should be some of which are completely new.” she said and a faint blush made its way onto your right cheek and down the back of your neck.  
”Is Blues actually your real name, or is it a nickname?” Pepper then asked and you lowered your eyes to look at the carpet beneath your feet before you shook your head a little.  
”K-Kira Sullivan. Or S-Sully, as my d-dad used to c-call me.” you said with quiet voice.

”Alright, Kira, I'll go now and find you something better to wear, I doubt you wouldn't have liked to wear Tony's clothes anyways even if they would have fit to you. I swear, even the new ones he has just taken out of their packages sometimes smell like some sort of motor oil and WD-40.” Pepper spoke and smiled to you, earning a grateful little smile and a nod from you in return. Then she exited from the room, leaving you alone for a while.

You were testing how thick the carpet next to the bed was by trying to bury your toes into the soft material when a knock sounded from the door and Pepper returned with a neat pile of clothes in her hands.  
”These _should_ fit to you better, Kira. I am taking these clothes with me and leave you to get yourself dressed in peace. I won't go too far, in case you might need my help, I will be just outside in the hallway.” Pepper spoke as she collected the unfit clothes from the bed into her arms. You nodded and she made her way out of the room, and you turned to look at the clothes she had stacked on the bed.

You picked a pair of grey underpants in your hands and pulled them on before you sat down onto the plush bed and let the towel drop around you. You then clothed yourself with grey bras, which, miraculously, fit around you perfectly. Standing up again, you shimmied yourself into a pair of loose-fitting blue jeans, before you sat down in order to pull white socks onto your feet. You decided not to tie the black sneakers onto your feet since it was apparent that your hosts weren't wearing shoes inside the house too. You stood up again and managed to pull a simple white tank top on you, and then you finally get to slip the very warm-looking, long sleeved white sweater over you.

After clothing yourself, you used the towel to ruffle your damp hair dryer. You stopped what you were doing when you saw your reflection in a mirror hanging on the opposite wall, and almost burst into tears again. Your throat felt tight and you swallowed hard when your eyes landed on the tuft of snow white hair, shining almost like a beacon from admits your otherwise auburn hair. You lifted your left hand slowly and ran it through your hair, only stopping to carefully touch the scar with your fingertips.

You blinked and sighed before continuing to ruffle your hair, the towel now placed completely upon your head and face so that you didn't have to look at yourself through the mirror anymore. You still couldn't believe how your luck had changed so suddenly, and you feared that all of this was just a dream and you would woke up in your miserable cell again sooner or later. You let the towel drop onto the floor when you wrapped your arms protectively around yourself, and sucked your bruised lip into your mouth again. You then shut your eyes tightly and tried to make yourself calm down.

 _”This is not a dream, this absolutely **can not** be a dream...”_ you thought, breathing faster and harsher as you tried to fight against the rising panic, and it felt like a lifetime had passed before you had gotten a hold of the panic attack. You cautiously opened your eyes again and instantly realized that you were still standing in the luxurious room, wearing your new clothes and staring at your image in the large mirror opposite the bed. Your grey eyes stared at you back from the mirror, the very same eyes which once looked like quicksilver whenever you laughed from the bottom of your heart, but nowadays held nothing but sadness and pain within themselves. Your shoulders were hunched down because of the many memories you were carrying, those memories consisting each and every single beating and torture you endured during the past six hellish months. And if those weren't enough already, the memories regarding your mother's last months and her eventual passing, accompanied by your own accident, the injuries which followed, and the long healing time afterwards, they all haunted you and brought vivid nightmares into your sleep pretty much every night.

You absently rubbed your right arm from just under the shoulder with your left hand when a soft knock sounded from the door and pulled you back from your deep thoughts.  
”Y-yes?” you answered, stilling all of your movements. It was something you had learned to do after what the guards had ´taught´ you to do when you were ´misbehaving´.

It was Pepper who opened the door again, and by doing so, she instantly became aware of your frightened stance. It didn't need more than a one look to recognize the symptoms which belonged to a person who has been trampled down both physically and mentally; there were the wide open eyes, the arms wrapped securely around one's body, there was the constant shivering despite the warmness of the room. Pepper sighed silently as she closed the door and tried to act strong for the sake of you both.

”I am very sorry to bring this up, but it is important for us to know this, in case you need to see a doctor.” Pepper spoke with a quiet, soothing voice as she walked to sit down on the bed. You started to fidget with your hands while actually biting at your lip, you tried to hold the tears that threatened to spill from your eyes again. Pepper patted the place next to her gently, and you walked numbly to sit there, and after wrapping your arms around your upper body again, you locked your gaze to look at the light switch near the bedroom door.

”You can tell me anything and everything you want, I won't tell anything to Tony if you don't want me to, okay?” Pepper said quietly, and you gave a small nod that you acknowledged her words. Then you took a shaky breath and started to tell your story, using your quiet, stuttering voice, and Pepper listened silently. She hugged you sideways, pressing you tightly against herself when you had reached the point in your tale where the guards had forced you down and when they had taken you by force for the first time. When you ended your horrific story, Pepper still held you against herself while stroking your back gently.

”Would you like me to contact this one doctor? She is a friend of mine and is working for this highly secure agency called S.H.I.E.L.D., she also won't tell anything to anyone.” Pepper asked quietly and you nodded.  
”Alright. Jarvis, can you please call Miriam here? Tell her that this is important and urgent, and that she should take her usual equipments with her.” Pepper talked to the A.I. and it responded:  
”Right away, Ms. Potts.”

”Now, if you would feel like it, you could follow me to the kitchen. Tony has probably managed to burn down the pasta sauce, _again_ , but nevertheless, there is always some backup food in the fridge.” Pepper said and waited for your answer.  
”...I h-haven't eaten anything t-today yet.” you admitted quietly as Pepper released you from her hold.  
”When was the last time you ate?” she then asked, concerned, as she had felt your thin frame through your shirt while she hugged you.  
”...This is t-the third day s-since I was a-allowed to eat, I-I think.” you said while fidgeting with your hands again. Pepper felt horrified about your revelation.  
”Bastards...” she muttered and sighed. You nodded and stood up from the bed, following Pepper's example. She then offered her right hand to you and you looked at it and gripped it with your left hand while turning your eyes towards the floor. Pepper then started to guide you towards the kitchen, and the early dinner that was almost ready to be served.


	4. New life

After Pepper had taken you both downstairs, she lead you to the kitchen doorway and stopped to stand there. You stayed behind her, your hand still holding her's, and it didn't seem like Pepper would even want to let go of your hand anytime soon. Tony noticed Pepper standing in the doorway, and his face lit up with a smile instantly.   
”Ah, Pepper! Okay, so, while you were in upstairs, and I hope you wouldn't get mad at me now, but I did some heavy thinking –” Tony spoke, sounding almost frantic while he stirred the slowly boiling pasta sauce with a wooden spoon.  
”Well, that's a first.” Pepper joked with a smile and Tony grinned.  
”Yeah, so, as I said, I have been thinking, because Blues said before that he doesn't have a safe place to stay at currently, and – and that his parents are both dead, and I know that you haven't heard me talking about this before, but I have always kinda wished that I would have a little brother, sooo –” Tony rambled, but Pepper managed to voice herself when he took a deep breath in order to continue his speech:  
”Tony, what –”  
”I wanna know if there's any kind of way to, I dunno, adopt him or something, because I want him to be my little brother?”

Tony stated and stared straight into Pepper's eyes, begging her to accept his idea. The redhead sighed and felt how you slightly tightened your grip on her hand.  
”Tony, I'm sure there is a legal way to adopt someone into a family, but you can't make Blues to be your little brother, no matter how much you wish for one.” Pepper spoke slowly and then saw how Tony started to pout.  
”But why Pepper, why can't he –” the brunette whined while looking like Pepper had somehow wounded at him mortally.  
”Because it is impossible for Blues to become as your adoptive brother, because Blues is not even a man, but a woman, and her real name is Kira Sullivan, not Blues.” Pepper explained slowly, and then waited when her words would hit Tony's awareness. It only took a fraction of a second before Tony's eyes went wide and he opened and closed his mouth like a fish on a dry land.

”Uh, what?” Tony blinked, stilling the spoon and the stirring of the sauce as he just looked at Pepper, feeling more than a little confused.  
”Blues is a woman, her first name is Kira, and she appears to be, more or less, thirty years old –” Pepper spoke but you quickly whispered to her:  
”T-twenty eight.”  
Pepper turned her head slightly towards your direction, she looked a little surprised, but then turned back to speak to Tony:  
”I mean, she is twenty eight years old.”

Tony stayed silent, processing this new piece of information and then nodded slowly, asking:  
”Really? Uh, well, how about a kid sister then, 'cause I am perfectly happy with that option too?”  
Pepper turned to look at you again, and you let go of her hand in order to scratch at the back of your neck with your normal hand.  
”I... C-could it really work?” you asked quietly from Pepper after you had thought about Tony's words, and the redhead smiled at you.  
”Well, I have managed to handle one Stark for quite some time now, so I feel very confident that I can managed to handle the situation even if there is two of them from now on.” Pepper said and Tony's smile went ear to ear.  
”Um, Tony, the sauce...” Pepper pointed out suddenly and Tony whirled around, looking a bit horrified as he tried to stir the pot as fast as he could before Pepper went to take over the cooking job.

”Miriam Wilson from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s medical wing is going to come here later today.” Pepper informed Tony while she was trying to save the sauce, and Tony looked slightly puzzled at first. Then he turned to look at you when you had stepped in the kitchen, opting to stay close to the doorway, and then he suddenly realized about what Pepper was trying to say.  
”Oh...? Oohhh, God damn... Jesus... Right, okay. Uh, Kira, would you like me to go back and nuke down that hellhole or would you want to do it by yourself? I could even make it to look like an accident.” Tony asked as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking paler than before. You wrapped your arms around yourself again, but not as tightly as before.  
”S-sounds good to m-me.” you said, managing a small, grateful smile.

”Excuse me for interrupting, sir, but Director Fury from S.H.I.E.L.D. wishes to inform you of his presence, he is currently waiting at the front door. Shall I let him in?” Jarvis unexpectedly informed the three of you, and Tony looked slightly surprised while you started to feel slightly nervous. Pepper looked at Tony as she fetched another kettle from the cupboard, and she silently shrugged at him and started to fill the kettle with tap water.  
”Well damn, that guy is fast. Fine, open the door and let Patchy in, Jarvis. I have a feeling that he was about to just walk in without asking anyways.” Tony said and sighed. You moved a bit further away from the doorway, well, you kind of panicked a little and retreated next to Pepper and the stove where the sauce was simmering in low temperature while the water filled kettle was only just starting to heat up.

You saw from your (hiding)spot how a tall black man wearing an eye-patch and black, slightly intimidating looking clothes walked into the living room from the direction of the front door, and then stopped to stand there. He glanced around himself briefly while he moved his hands behind his back, his stance sending a message that one shouldn't mess with him if they knew what was good for their health.  
”Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts.”  
”Fury.” Tony greeted the man casually with a nod. Pepper gave a curt nod and a smile to the man before she returned her attention back to the cooking. You stayed absolutely quiet and kept your eyes on the newcomer.

”May I get a some sort of a debriefing regarding the events of your escape from the rathole of Death Valley, Mr. Stark?” the man, Director Fury, asked from Tony. His voice was as authoritative as his whole appearance was.  
”Yeah, sure, since you asked nicely, but we have already given that place a more suitable name, so to say, we are calling it as hellhole.” Tony spoke and Fury raised an eyebrow.  
”Who are ´we´?” he questioned and you sucked at your lip nervously.

”Well, I was talking about myself, and my new friend who got us out of that place.” Tony said and gestured you to come to his side. You hesitated, feeling nervous again, but did as he wanted, and he placed his arm around your shoulder carefully and protectively. Fury's single eyebrow rose even higher when he saw you, and he asked:  
”And now I would _really_ like to know how did you managed to find Ms. Sullivan, because entire agency has tried to locate her whereabouts ever since the last February, when she suddenly disappeared from our radar?”  
Tony blinked surprised and then asked from Fury:  
”You know her?”  
”Kira Abigail Sullivan, the only child of scientists Diane and Michael Sullivan. She is the only person in this world who has got an arm, leg and rib prostheses which all work as well as the real ones. Not to mention the fact that her entire spine has been modified, allowing her gain back her once lost mobility. We have been keeping tracks on her ever since her father died a couple of years ago, he was a close acquaintance of mine and had asked our agency to keep his daughter safe if he couldn't do it himself.” Fury explained, and both Tony and Pepper were staring at him surprised before they turned to look at you, who were fidgeting with your hands nervously.

”It – it was a c-car accident, when I was s-seventeen. Dad m-made my first prostheses i-in our garage during one w-weekend after I was send b-back home from the h-hospital.” you explained quietly when you sensed that both Tony and Pepper wanted to know more.  
”Ms. Sullivan, I would like to interview you regarding the time you were being held captive, but that can wait for a better time. For now, it would be a good thing if you could recover while staying in a safe place.” Fury said to you and you nodded slightly.  
”Oh, speaking of which... Fury, me and Pepper were suggesting to Kira that she could stay here, in our house, and if there's a way and if she is supporting the idea, I am more than happy to take her under my protection as my little sister.” Tony then said to Fury, and the other man stayed silent for a while, pondering about the idea, and then he nodded:  
”Not a bad idea, Stark. She is, indeed, in a need of a new identity, we don't know yet if there are other members of that same group who are still roaming free.”

”Oh, and Fury? Is there a chance that this whole episode would stay out of the media? I couldn't care less about my own reputation, but I would like to keep Kira out of the headlines, at least, for the time being?” Tony asked from Fury and you turned your head to look at him.  
”Consider it done. I will notify my bosses that we finally found Ms. Sullivan, but unfortunately, she has already passed away, the day of death presumably being eighteenth of February this year, when she disappeared from her old home. And I will also notify that Mr. Stark has found out that he has got a half sister, and that she is currently living under his roof. Agreed?” Fury spoke, his good eye making a sweeping glance across the kitchen.  
”That sounds disturbingly believable for me.” Tony said with a blank face after a moment of silence, and he actually did look a bit disturbed.  
”Sounds good for me.” Pepper said and you nodded slowly.  
”Believe me, Stark, this certainly isn't the first time S.H.I.E.L.D. has done this kind of thing. And what comes to your idea, it will be put into action before this day is over. Before I go, I would like to hear your name, Miss...” Fury said and waited for your answer. Tony and Pepper looked at you and you managed a tiny smile as you said:  
”Nice to meet you, I am Sully Blues Stark.”


	5. It's a sunny day...

The warm rays of the sun were bathing the interior of one of the tallest and newest buildings of the New York city, making the ultramodern glass and steel structure outshine even the grand old Chrysler Building in the process. Yet, the brightness of the early morning couldn't seep through the blackened windows of one of the upper floor bedrooms, where a person was just starting to wake up and start a new day.

Good two years had passed since Tony and Pepper (plus Jarvis and the bots) had taken you under their metaphorical wings, offering you a new start amongst their little ´family´. Admittedly, it had taken some time from you to get adjusted to the new situation, but nevertheless, the things were slowly getting better. The first couple of months had been the hardest ones, mainly because of the haunting nightmares you were seeing more often than you liked to admit, and because they often left you feeling more exhausted and stressed after the night than you were feeling before it.

And that was the reason, when the beautiful, serene morning dawned, that it all felt like a miracle to you because for the first time in months, you had been able to sleep whole eight hours without seeing any kind of bad dreams from the last two decades of your life.

 

You shifted slightly while you were still laying under a warm, soft cover, then you yawned hard and cracked your eyes open just a little before you stretched your frame and rolled over onto your other side. Your bed had been made especially for you, since your artificial limbs, as well as your spine, needed just the right amount of support which the other, already existing, beds couldn't offer to you. Tony had actually brainstormed the whole concept of your new bed during your very first dinner together, and the ´Bed 2.0´ had arrived to the Malibu mansion two days later.

”Awwyee, so comfy...” you mumbled sleepily into your pillow while you hugged it contently against your upper body. You let your eyes fall closed again, and you were just about to fall asleep, when:  
”Good morning, Ms. Kira. The weather is sunny with a possibility of few clouds in the late afternoon, the current temperature is seventy-three Fahrenheit and the estimated temperature at noon is eighty Fahrenheit.”

Jarvis's calm voice greeted you upon noticing that you had started to wake up. You let out a sigh before yawning again, then you rolled over onto your back. From there, you pushed yourself slowly and carefully into a sitting position. You blinked a few times and rubbed at your eyes with your better hand when the A.I. gradually reduced the amount of shading from the windows, letting the sun shine into your whole apartment floor.

”Morning, Jarvis.” you greeted sleepily as you tried to stifle a yawn from escaping.

”Were you able to sleep well last night, Miss?” Jarvis asked politely as you stretched your back by lifting your arms up over your head and reaching your fingertips towards the high ceiling.

”Was it Tony who asked you to ask me about it?” you asked before lowering your arms and scratching the back of your head with your left hand, making your sleep-tousled hair look even more ruffled-up than before.

”Yeah, that was me.” Tony's voice suddenly rang through the hidden speakers before Jarvis even had the opportunity to answer.

”Well, yes, I slept just fine, thanks for asking, but the question is, how did _you_ sleep, Tony?” you asked and stretched your legs under the cover.

”Sir has spend the whole night in his workshop. _Again_.” Jarvis answered, disapproval ringing within his voice. You huffed out a laugh and finally managed to get out from your bed.

”But I actually had a very good reason for that, you know.” Tony tried to defend himself and this time you laughed out wholeheartedly.

” _Of course_ you had, Tony, and I would love to talk with you about all of your ´good reasons´, but it's now only like, what? Eight in the morning and I haven't even woken up fully yet.” you talked as you made your way towards the adjoining bathroom and Tony let you get ready for the day:  
”Yeah, okay, we'll talk later then, K, I have to finish my things in here too.”

After that, the silence returned just as you stepped inside the spacious bathroom. After your morning routines and the serene moment (or two) under the warm stream of your waterfall-like shower, you wrapped a large, soft towel around you before you stepped into the bedroom again. You dried yourself with the towel and clothed yourself with your favorite outfit of all times; faded blue jeans topped with a black sports tank and black sneakers.

You returned the towel back into the bathroom and closed the door after you had strolled back to the bedroom. Then you walked into your living room and went to stand in front of a tall wall mirror. At first, you started to stretch your right arm, careful to keep the movements slow in order to avoid any pain that could strike out of nowhere, and after a while, you continued the exercise by repeating the movements with your left leg. It was important to test the mobility of your artificial limbs for time to time, since this pair was a brand new one, made and installed by Tony no more than a week ago. This pair was the fifth he had build for you, and you had to admit that they were just plain awesome, so light yet sturdy to use, and shiny enough that you could use them as a mirror whenever you wanted.

But, no matter how well build your arm and leg were, there was a major downside that no-one, not even Tony, couldn't figure out how to erase; every time when the nerves of your limbs were to be disconnected from their bases, the whole action felt like someone was ripping your actual limbs off from your body without using any kind of anesthesia first. You were always shaky and twitchy afterwards, you felt sick and wanted nothing more than the pain to stop, but unfortunately, there was always the connecting of the new limbs awaiting for you around the corner, and it goes without saying that it never felt too good either. This time, however, Tony had made some major improvements to the nerves going inside your limbs so that now you could feel temperature changes better than before, and you could also identify a rough surface from a smoother one without looking at the object first.

When you finished your exercises, you started to brush your damp hair with a brush, your gaze occasionally wandering to stare at the bundle of white hair you still sported among your otherwise auburn hair. Your hairstyle was still short, but this time it was your own, personal, choice, and it was also your choice not to dye your white hair. Pepper often joked that your stripe of white was the only thing that separated you from Tony.

You deemed your hairdo good enough, and with a quick smile towards your reflection, you exited from your apartment and into the hallway leading to the elevators. A short elevator ride later, you arrived to the common floor, and when the doors opened to let you out of the cart, you were greeted   
by the heavenly aroma of freshly brewed, Brazilian-blend coffee. Your feet were already carrying you towards the kitchen, when you heard how a door opened behind you, and without stopping, you turned to look back. It was Tony who had entered to the hallway, he was carrying a holopad between his hands, his attention fixed onto the device, and you smiled at him when he seemed to smell the same as you had.

Tony's head snapped upwards and a smile found its way over his face. His eyes connected with yours and you couldn't help but crack a grin onto your lips too.

”Coffee!” you both said enthusiastically, and then there was a mad race to see which one of you could reach the doorway and the awaiting pot of coffee first. You already had a few seconds head start and when you quickened your pace, you managed to arrive into the kitchen well before Tony did.

Pepper was sitting on a bar stool behind the breakfast island and looking professional in her business suit while reading headlines from her holopad, and she was just taking a sip of coffee from her favorite cup when she saw the two of you dash into the doorway. She rolled her eyes good-naturedly and said, smiling:  
”Good morning you both.”

”Morning, Peps.” Tony greeted, pressing a kiss to her right cheek all the while trying to reach the coffee pot into his grasp from its spot on the counter, except that you were quicker than he was, again. You filled your mug and placed the pot back to Tony's reach.

”Morning, Pepper.” you greeted with a smile and lifted the mug up to your lips. You took a sip and then sighed happily before padding to sit next to Pepper.

”So, Tony, are you ready to disconnect the Tower from the mainline tonight?” Pepper asked as Tony leaned against the kitchen counter after he had filled his own, Iron Man themed mug to the brim.

”Sure I am. And after that, we are completely self-sustained at least for a year.” Tony answered, and they continued their talk about the subject as you bid them both good days and byes when you exited from the kitchen, receiving the same greetings in return from the both of them. You sipped the cooling coffee while you descendent your steps towards your own workshop and the unfinished little projects waiting for your return.

 

”Okay J, let's get down to business, I want to finish these babies and introduce them to our little family!” you said excitedly while clapping your hands together as you stepped into your workspace. All the lights above you lit up instantly, and all the computers whirred and blinked alive.

”Shall I start your usual playlist, Ms. Kira?” Jarvis asked politely and you smirked.

”Yes, Jarvis, let's break the ceiling today, shall we?” you said and strolled over to the workbench where one of your projects was laying, small tools and sheets of papers were scattered all around the two small objects. Speakers started to play your favorite songs just as you had sat down onto the stool and had taken one of the tools into your right hand and the unfinished device into your other.

 

Being a daughter of two brilliant scientist, your intelligence level was rivaling with Tony's level of genius, allowing you to bounce back ideas with him every now and then. Tony had first discovered your brilliance about a month after you had settled in their Malibu mansion. He was having a tough time while modifying one of his armors, and when you had pointed out few problems (which he had failed to notice before) existing in the glove he was trying to upgrade, he had asked you to remake the whole glove by yourself. You had felt nervous at then, you had been afraid that you had managed to upset the mechanic, and were sucking at your lip silently when Tony had walked out of the garage in order to get some much needed sleep. And when he had returned to the garage the following morning, he had stopped onto his tracks when he had noticed that not only you had build a fully functioning glove for him, but you had also improved the entire suit during the time he had been sleeping upstairs. Your upper body had been laying slumped over his workbench whilst your lower body was sitting on the very edge of the stool, you had fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep while you had still been clutching a wrench in your right hand. After that event, Tony had granted you a workbench of your own, and eventually, the two of you were building so many weird gadgets in the garage that Pepper had had to force both of you to cut down the working time by half.

 

It was noon when you decided to take a break from your projects, so you wandered back towards your personal floor. Actually, you had two floors at the Stark Tower, one was being used as the living quarters and the other was dedicated to a sole purpose of building and designing things. You had talked with Pepper yesterday about her trip to the D.C, which was due tomorrow, so you knew that she was currently packing her bags on her and Tony's floor. She wanted everything to be ready before the evening fell, mainly because she wanted to spend a quiet evening together with Tony, and you understood her perfectly well. You too wanted to have some time alone, and had intended to spend the evening by re-watching some of your favorite movies while eating some good take-away and ice-cream. But for now, you felt like you could spend some time outside the Tower for a change.

”Jarvis, could you inform Tony and Pepper that I am going to head out for a moment? I'm not gonna go far, just to the cafeteria near our Tower.” you said to the A.I. when you had arrived to your floor and had stepped out of the elevator.

”Certainly, Ms. Kira. Have a nice break.” Jarvis said politely. You walked to your bedroom and took a thin, long-sleeved, sky-blue shirt out of your wardrobe and then pulled it over you. Then you grabbed a pair of sunglasses (noticing it was quite sunny outside), your wallet (which you shoved into your jeans' pocket), your phone (it found a place inside the other pocket of your jeans) and a pair of white gloves with you and headed back to the elevators. Once the doors closed, you pulled the gloves on your hands and placed the sunglasses on top of your head.

 

After a short trip downwards and a quick walk through the lobby, you finally exited from the Tower. The weather was indeed really nice and you enjoyed it for what felt like the first time in ages, and you took your time to walk towards the cafeteria. Once you had reached the place, you headed inside and placed your order to the smiling employee working behind the counter. After you had been handed your beverage, you payed and returned back in order to sit down on the nearest empty table. You slipped your sunglasses on and sighed contently after you had taken a sip from your delicious latte.

You eyed your surroundings through your glasses, your gaze following the people walking past the café, the buzz of the city never ceasing even a day as beautiful as this. After a while, you ran your better hand through your hair and then placed your sunglasses on top of your head again. You took a sip from your styrofoam cup and pulled your phone out of your pocket. Your attention was focused on scrolling through the internet, but then you get a feeling that you were being watched. Your thoughts darted straight to the device you were always carrying with you, and which now sat hidden inside your jeans' pocket; Tony had given you a special kind of medallion so that if someone was threatening you, you could use it to call backups into the scene. Well, in this case, the backups were the suits Tony wasn't wearing, but nonetheless, they could come to rescue you if the situation called for it, and the medallion could only be activated by giving it the password which only you, Tony, Pepper and Jarvis knew.

You lifted your gaze from your phone and noticed how this one guy was sitting on a table not far from you, and when he lifted his head to look up from the book that was laying on the table, his eyes connected with yours, making you to quickly avert your gaze back to your phone. You gulped down some coffee and tried to calm down your nerves. You were more than sure that if someone was to talk with you right now, you sure as hell would stutter almost as badly as you had two years ago.

You glanced at the guy again, and noticed how he was eyeing at your appearance again, and this time, he looked surprised and maybe even a little embarrassed because you had caught him staring at you when he had thought you wouldn't notice it. The guy turned his eyes quickly towards the book, and you felt a bit triumphant to see how a slight blush crept up onto his cheeks. Then you noticed how he was writing something into the book, and a realization dawned upon you; it wasn't just a book, it was a notebook of sorts, and the guy was writing or drawing something into it. You huffed silently and continued to scroll though your phone while drinking your beverage. 

You noted that the nameless guy had sandy blond hair, and that it was combed in an old fashioned way, which was, well, a bit odd, since he looked like he was pretty much the same age as you were. He was wearing a brown leather jacket, which was open and under it he had a blue, checkered button-up. You kind of hated to admit, but he did look handsome, in a way.

After you finished your drink, you stood up, placed your sunglasses back onto your face and the phone back into the pocket, then you made your way towards the Tower, leaving the terrace and the blonde behind.

You walked with a bit faster pace back to the Tower, and headed straight to your floor. You removed your glasses and peeled off the long-sleeved shirt before you dropped off your wallet. And after removing your gloves, you strolled into your kitchen in order to make yourself some lunch. Tony and Pepper were encouraging and reminding you to eat more, and you were doing just that, and had successfully gained back some of your curves you had before the whole hellhole-episode.

”Watcha eating, dear Sully?”  
You had taken a plateful of food and had just seated yourself behind the breakfast bar when Tony just casually strolled into your kitchen from out of nowhere. Sometimes you wondered how he always knew there was free food available, even if no-one told him about it. You had asked if Jarvis was informing him, but the A.I. denied it every time.

”I just made stirred noodles with tuna and veggies. Sure you can rob yourself a plateful, wasn't gonna save and eat it later anyways...” you said, sighing, as you watched how Tony gathered a huge plateful of your lunch with him and then shoved his mouth full of food. 

”U mhow, H.I.E.L.Dhf een ahhahed-” Tony spoke with his mouth full and you stared at him like, is he an idiot? You were also trying to eat there!

”Tony, don't speak with your mouth full of food! Gods!” you whined and Tony munched down the food and started again:  
”You know, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s been attacked last night.”

Well, that certainly caught your attention, and you gulped, already feeling how the coldness started to spread like a wildfire inside your body.

”What? By who? D-don't tell it's b-been Hydra?” you asked nervously.

”No, I don't believe it was Hydra. You have nothing to worry about, you are safe here. And remember when I said I stayed in the lab the whole night?” Tony tried to reassure you, he had noticed how your stuttering and nervousness had started to seep back into your being. You nodded and he continued:  
”Well, I have build something awesome for you, something cool that matches with Herb ´n´ Spices here. I am sure you'll love it, but I hope that you never had to use it though.”

Tony pointed at your right arm and your left leg when he said Herb ´n´ Spices, and it made you feel confused, but then you hummed nonetheless.

”Okay, uh, thanks.” you said before the two of you started to talk about new, upcoming projects, but you couldn't shake away the nagging feeling located in the back of your skull that always indicated that something bad was about to happen. _Soon_.


	6. Clouds on the horizon

After the lunch, you headed back to your workshop in order to scribble down a few new ideas and designs which had sprouted into your mind during the lunchtime conversation with your dear (fake) big brother. It wasn't until the last rays of the setting sun seeped through the large windows of your workshop, painting everything inside of it with warm orange and soft pinkish hues for a few short moments, when you suddenly realized that the evening had started to fall upon the city.

It was almost the time for Tony to disconnect the Tower from the main power line, and you sighed tiredly and rubbed at your face with both of your hands while leaning back on your office chair.

”Jarvis, let's call it a day, shall we?” you said and stretched your arms upwards over your head, a satisfying pop sounding from your left shoulder whilst the other stayed ever so silent.

”Certainly, Miss.” Jarvis answered, saving and filing your new schematics into your personal database before starting to shut down the computers and other equipments you had used earlier. You yawned and stood up from your chair before stretching both of your legs on your way towards the sturdy doors of your workshop. The lights were dimming behind you as you walked through the automatic doors and onto the hallway. You made your way towards your living quarters, and after a quick elevator ride upwards, you arrived to your spacious living room where few ambient lights glowed softly as the shades of the windows were already closed for the night.

You headed for your bedroom and flopped down onto the bed as soon as you reached it. Another yawn escaped from you as you rolled over to lay on your back instead of your stomach. You let out a sigh as you stared at the ceiling, and you would have fallen asleep pretty quickly if you wouldn't have heard how a soft, familiar-sounding knock echoed from your apartment's door.

”Yeah, okay, come in, I'm not sleeping, I swear!” you called while still laying on your bed, sounding not at all convincing. You heard the door open and close, a soft tapping of footfalls following shortly as Pepper entered into your apartment. You cranked yourself into a sitting position just as the redhead stopped to stand in the open doorway of your bedroom. And as you saw her, you knew something wasn't right, the realization sending a wave of worry through your body.

”Pepper? Is something wrong?” you asked worriedly and stood up from your bed. The CEO let out a barely noticeable sigh before answering:  
”Something concerning has, indeed, happened, and now Tony has to spend the evening by studying the data that this one agent from S.H.I.E.L.D. brought him a few minutes ago. And given the fact that he has quite a lot homework to do, we agreed that I should fly to D.C. tonight instead of taking an early flight tomorrow morning.”

You started to subconsciously suck at your lower lip, as you sometimes did out of habit whenever you were feeling nervous, and you asked after a beat:  
”Oh... does it have something to do with the attack towards S.H.I.E.L.D.?”

Pepper nodded but said:  
”But I am sure everything is going to be alright and that this whole incident would be sorted out shortly.”

”Yeah, okay, I hope that too. I feel sorry that your evening was ruined, but I wish you have a good flight and I hope you would be back soon.” you said and smiled a little, trying to reassure yourself at the same time too. Pepper smiled and took a few steps closer to you in order to give you a hug.

”Thank you, Kira. I'll be back as soon as I can. Have a good night and sleep well.” Pepper said while parting with you. The two of you then walked to your apartments door where you wished her good night too.

 

When Pepper had left, the nagging feeling returned, and this time it hit you stronger than before. You wrapped your arms around yourself and tried to calm down. Maybe things weren't as bad as they sounded like, and maybe they would sort out just as quickly as Pepper had said.

”Hey Kira, you have a minute?” Tony asked suddenly, sounding bit concerned as his voice came through the PA-system of your floor.

You blinked confusedly, but answered nonetheless:  
”Um, sure?”

”Great! Could you then come to the lounge room? I have something I want to show you and I would also like to ask your opinion about it.” Tony spoke, and by the time he had finished his sentence, you were already making your way towards the lounge area upstairs.

 

* * *

Ever since you had set your foot into the lounge, you and Tony had spend an hour after hour examining the various images hoovering above the floor, and little by little, you two were surrounded by several black tablets and manila folders which all carried heavy amounts of very important information. There were pictures and short videos taken from five people, every single one of them seemed to be more extraordinary than the other. Pepper certainly wasn't kidding you when she had said that there was quite a lot of new things to be studied tonight, and Tony was trying his best to do just that. The agent who had visited him earlier, had also granted him an access to the information regarding astrophysics, some weird alien science and last but not least, gamma-rays. And as smart as Tony was, he still occasionally asked for your advice and perspective for the current matter, and you helped him as well as you could, making suggestions and observations he himself hadn't even thought about.

”So, let me get this right... this agent called as ´Agent´ wasn't trying to recruit you into their team? Yet he comes here, carrying this Pandora's Box full of more or less shoddy information, and then expects you to give them free advice? I found that extremely odd and shady.” you spoke after a while and stretched your hands over your head. Your body was slowly turning around as you were sitting on an office chair, you had fetched it from one of the offices located several floors down when you had realized that yes, this ordeal really takes a good chunk of time to be sorted out.

”Mhm. Apparently, I wasn't ´qualified´ enough to join their super-secret boy band.” Tony answered from the floor where he was sitting cross-legged while surrounded by several open manila folders and thick, science related books which had countless post-it notes sticking from between the pages.

”...But you are still going to pay them a visit?” you asked, already knowing the answer.

”Oh, definitely. It's always fun to annoy Director Patchy.” he said and smirked mischievously.

”Right.” you sighed and rubbed the bridge of your nose with your left hand while keeping your eyes shut. Tony glanced at you and sneakily reached to spin your chair around.

”Hiee!?” you yelped, startled, and Tony burst into a mad laughter.

”I think it's time for you to go catch some sleep, K.” he then pointed out, sounding more serious when his laughter quieted and you had stopped spinning around. You stood up from your chair and gave a glare to the mad mechanic for his antics, but you both knew there was no real anger behind it.

”Yeah, okay, fine... but the same goes to you, T.” you said with a tired sigh while making your way towards the doorway of the lounge.

”Sleep well!” Tony called after you and you just waved back at him.

 

”Okay Jarvis, let's see where they are hoovering right now...” Tony said after hearing the hiss of the elevator door closing. He stood up from the floor just when Jarvis pulled up a large holopad.

”So, it seems they are heading to Germany... Well, let's pay them a visit, shall we?” Tony said after he had examined the image.

”Yes, sir. Shall I inform Ms. Kira about your plans?” Jarvis asked, and Tony needed to consider it for a second before he sighed and said:  
”I think it's the best if you could inform her after a few hours, she really needs to have a good nights sleep first. I'll go ahead and see what they are doing in Germany, and I'll send someone to pick her up if it's necessary. If something happens and the things go haywire while I'm off the country, I might feel better if I'd know she is in a safe place, and there might not be a safer place to be than a place full of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agents at the moment. I want to keep her safe at all costs, after all, she _is_ my little sister.”

Jarvis's answer came through the hidden speakers just as Tony stepped outside to the landing pad:  
”Very well, sir. Should I start the paint-job for your new suit while you are away, sir?”

”Yeah, you can do that, J. Oh! And paint the other suit as well while you are at it!” Tony replied while his suit was being fitted over him automatically.

”And what colouring shall I use for the suit?” Jarvis asked and Tony smirked while holding the helmet in between his hands.

”Use the same colours I tested on the first rendering of the suit; paint it otherwise black but use cobalt inside the seams.” Tony answered before placing the helmet on his head. Soon enough, he was flying through the air, his course locked firmly onto the S.H.I.E.L.D.'s super-secret flying fortress known as the Helicarrier.

 

* * *

After a few hours of nightmare filled dreams, you woke up feeling groggy all over. You fumbled to the bathroom and took a shower before clothing yourself with black cargo pants, white tank top and a sky-blue, long-sleeved shirt. You dried your hair and used a tiny amount of hair wax in order to ruffle it so that it now stood up from the ends before you slipped a black satin hairband on your head.

When you were ready, Jarvis delivered you the information regarding the previous night and what had happened after you had gone to bed, and you started to feel worried, the feeling located at the back of your skull growing stronger. Thus, in order to calm yourself down, you headed to your workshop and started to fill a duffel bag with tools and other highly comforting objects in case you had to leave the Tower in a hurry.

An hour later and when you were eating breakfast in your kitchen (worrying about Tony's safety at the same time), it was yet again Jarvis's voice that pulled you away from your thoughts:  
”Ms. Kira, excuse me for interrupting you, but a S.H.I.E.L.D. issued aircraft has landed on the helipad, sir has granted landing rights to the agent aboard and the said agent is now requesting you to follow him.”

”Uh, what? Has something happened, is Tony alright?” you asked, already standing up from the stool where you were sitting on, and the A.I. answered:  
”Sir is alright at the moment, he has arrived to the S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mobile base earlier and now wishes you to join him there.”

”Oh, okay, good.” you said quietly on your way to your bedroom, where you pulled your black leather jacket over you before zipping it closed. You then placed your black Ray-Bans to shield your eyes before you shoved your wallet into your trouser's pocket. Then you hauled the strap of your duffel bag onto your left shoulder and pulled black gloves on your hands, and after that, you were ready to go.

You used the elevator and arrived into the lounge room in no time. You walked over to the bar counter and talked to Jarvis while opening your bag and fishing out the thing you needed:  
”Jarvis, I leave my newest project here since they need to be hooked into the main system before they can function properly, you know what I am talking about, don't you? Anyway, if you could do that for me, Jarvis, I would appreciate it greatly.”

”I shall do as you asked, Miss. Have a safe flight.” Jarvis said politely and you smiled a little before walking outside to the helipad in order to meet up with the agent.

”Hey there, and welcome aboard, Ms. Stark.” a man wearing an impeccable black suit greeted you as soon as you had walked closer to him and the jet. He extended his right hand towards you and you gave him a nervous smile before you quickly shook his hand:  
”Thank you, mister...”

”Agent Phil Coulson. It's going to be a forty minute flight to our destination. Here, let me take your bag, and please, make yourself comfortable.” the man said, motioning for you to go inside the jet first. You handed your bag to him before you removed your sunglasses and placed them to hang from the collar of your jacket as you stepped into the aircraft. You looked around curiously and the agent noticed it and said:  
”Sorry, we don't have as nice seats as the Stark jet has.”

The man sounded embarrassed, but you shrugged a little as you sat down onto an empty seat:  
”I'm not nearly as picky as my brother might be.”  
You said quietly and flashed a quick, and hopefully, reassuring smile to the agent and it did seem to ease down his nervousness.

”So, uh, I just heard yesterday that Mr. Stark has a sister. How come you two became so... Different?” agent Coulson asked at the same time when the jet took off from the Tower. You swallowed nervously and shrugged again, hoping that he wouldn't question you further:  
”Well, we had a same dad but different mothers.”

”Ah, right, that'll explain it then.” the agent said, nodding. You just hummed quietly before silence fell in between you two. Coulson actually wanted to question you a bit further, but he knew that it really wasn't his business to begin with, so he kept his mouth shut about the subject for the rest of the flight.

 

* * *

”Impressive...” you muttered as the jet landed onto a freaking _flying ship!_ Just, what the hell!? The thing looked like it came straight from the future for god's sake.

”Welcome to the Helicarrier, Ms. Stark.” Coulson said behind you as the two of you stepped outside of the jet.

”Thank you, and please, call me Sully.” you said with a smile before you placed your Ray-Bans on your face.

”Alright, Ms. Sully.” the agent said and handed your bag back to you before he motioned you to follow him inside the flying aircraft carrier.

 _”Got to admit that she is nicer than Tony...”_ Phil thought to himself as he led you to the part of the carrier where the sleeping quarters were located. You two stopped to stand in front of a door after walking through a maze of narrow hallways and corridors, and you stared at the metal door with letters imprinted onto its surface; S.B. STARK was what you read from the name tag.

”This will be your room for as long as you are aboard. Sorry, it might be a bit too, uh, ascetic for your liking.” Coulson said and opened the door for you.

”Well... this still beats the hole I lived for half a year...” you said after a beat of silence and after you had glanced inside the room.

”Others are currently at the mainbridge, I probably should be there too. So, please, try to make yourself comfortable.” the agent said and you nodded before stepping in, and after you had dropped your bag onto the bed, he closed the door and left you to settle in. You glanced around again, and with a tired sigh, you strolled out of the room and started to follow the hallway in your search of some good, strong, coffee.

 

* * *

”Iridium, what did they need the iridium for?”

You heard someone say from the large room ahead of you, and you walked silently to stand on the doorway.

 _”Right... This certainly is **not** a kitchen...”_ you thought to yourself as you looked into the room. There were several people who were using computers, they were apparently navigating the Helicarrier, but there were also a few people who accompanied either the humongous table or the area next to it. You observed their conversation curiously, and you shifted your body so that you stayed relatively hidden from their view.

”It's a stabilizing agent.”

Tony's voice pulled your attention towards the doorway at the other side of the large table. He was walking with Coulson and when he said something to him, he just smiled and walked to stand next to one of the agents using the computer not far from your hiding spot.

”Means the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D.” Tony continued his explanation and waltzed towards this one tall blond man who stood next to a some sort of a control panel.

”Hey, no hard feelings Point Break, you've got a mean swing.” Tony said to the blond man while jabbing at his bicep. The man just looked at him confusedly.

”Also, it means that the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants.” Tony said and then talked to the agents who were navigating the carrier, but they gave him an unamused look.

”That man is playing Galaga! Thought we didn't notice, but we did.” then you heard Tony's amused voice and saw how everyone turned to stare at the poor guy who was playing the said game. You smirked and bit your lip in order to suppress the laugh from escaping. Then you leaned your left shoulder against the door frame and decided that the coffee could wait for a little while.

”How does Fury even sees these?” Tony then asked while covering his left eye and trying to look around the control station standing separated from the other computers.

”He turns.” a woman dressed in tight black suit answered, her voice sounding more than just a little unimpressed.

”Sounds exhausting.” Tony said and fiddled with the panels, and from your hiding spot, you noticed how he slipped something into one of the USB-ports located at the side of one of the panels.

 _”Ah, so that's why you wanted me here, you need me to hack into something... Well, that'll do just fine...”_ you thought and smirked to yourself.

”The rest of the raw materials, agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density, something to kick-start the cosmic cube.” Tony spoke to the people around him, and everyone near the table listened closely.

”When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?” the woman in the black suit asked while raising an eyebrow.

”Last night. The packet, Selvig's notes, the extraction theory papers... Oh, c'mon people! Am I really the only one who did the reading?” Tony said and looked around the table and over to the agents, looking incredulous. You chuckled, cleared your throat and walked inside the room.


	7. Two Starks

”You mean that you _tried_ to read through them but were unable to get a hold of the information flood, then you got frustrated and asked me to explain everything to you, which I did, _twice_ , before you kicked me out of the room?” you said while you walked further into the room, earning everyone's attention onto yourself in the process. Tony's eyes lit up and he smiled broadly before walking over to you in order to give you a hearty hug.

”Nice to see you here, kiddo.” Tony whispered to you and then released you from his hold.

”Your new assistant, Mr. Stark?” the black-clad woman asked unamused and Tony snorted.

”What? No, not in a million years. Everyone, meet my dear sister, Sully.” Tony introduced you to everyone and you finally took off your sunglasses and placed them to hung from the collar of your jacket. Everyone around and near the table looked shocked about the revelation, but you just smiled brightly to each one of them. Coulson, on the other hand, wasn't feeling shocked or surprised, because Tony had already told him yesterday that he had a sister.

”Sooo... Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?” a man with a sandy blond hair asked after he had recovered from his shock, trying to aim the conversation back onto its tracks. You furrowed your brow slightly and took a better look of him.

 _”No way he is the same guy from yesterday...”_ you wondered to yourself. The guy looked almost identical to the man you had seen sitting at the terrace of the coffee shop the day before.

 _”Yep, he really **is** the same guy...”_ you realized after a beat, and felt even more confused about the subject.

”He got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier.” a man dressed in purple button-down shirt and beige khakis answered from behind the sandy blond guy.

”Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunnelling effect.” Tony said and started to move towards the purple shirted man, not realizing that he had left you to stand alone in the middle of the room. You let out a silent sigh and started to feel slightly awkward and a little nervous.

 _”Jesus, there's way too much science in here right now... Go Tony, go and abandon your ´sister´ right in the middle of the room...”_ you thought and crossed your arms against your chest.

”Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet.” the purple shirted man said while rubbing at his wrists with his hands.

”Finally, someone who speaks English.” Tony said happily and went to shake his hand.

”Is that what just happened?” the sandy blond guy muttered quietly. You rolled your eyes and sighed silently.

”It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.” Tony spoke to the man who now looked at him, feeling a bit stunned. And more than just a little embarrassed too.

”Um... Thanks.” he said as they shook hands, and that was when everyone's attention turned towards the black man who entered to the room.

”Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you would join him, Mr. Stark. And I can see that you have brought your sister here too. Good. We need all the help we can get. It's nice to meet you again, Ms. Stark.” Director Fury spoke and nodded to you and you returned the greeting.

”Well, two Starks is better than one.” you replied with a quiet voice before you smiled to Tony.

”Got any of your tools with you, sis?” Tony asked, ignoring everyone else for a second, and you nodded.

”Brought Herb ´n´ Spices with me too.” you answered and Tony smirked knowingly. No-one else knew what the two of you were talking about when you were speaking like that.

”Okay, so, let's start with the stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like Hydra weapon.” the sandy blond guy then said, making you to froze still. Tony noticed your stance and grew concerned.

 _”Hydra?”_ you thought and got goosebumps all over you. You took a few slow, calm breaths in order to calm yourself down.

”I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys.” Fury spoke and the other blond guy wondered confused:  
”Monkeys? I do not understand.”

”I do! I understood that reference.” the sandy blond guy said excitedly and he looked like he was very proud of himself. Tony rolled his eyes behind him and you bit your lip in order to suppress a laugh.

”Shall we play, doctor?” Tony spoke to Dr. Banner then and they exited from the room together. You shook your head ever so slightly and sighed silently. The Director turned around and walked to stare out of the massive windows. Everyone else then dispersed from the room, apparently heading to their own, respective quarters now that the meeting seemed to have come to an end.

 _”Right... The coffee...”_ you thought to yourself and exited from the room quickly. You speed walked along a hallway and got a text into your Stark phone when you were turning around a corner:

I wanna show you something cool.  
It's at the fancy-ass lab down the hall.  
T.S.

You sighed and right in that moment, entered into a small cafeteria. You were drawn towards the coffee automate like it had somehow managed to possess your soul, and you were selecting a beverage from the menu above the holy nozzles of the divine machine. You hadn't even lifted the mug fully onto your lips when another text dinged into your phone:

Could you bring some coffee with you?  
And tea?  
Hell, we need all the coffee you can find.  
And donuts.  
Seriously, a mountain of donuts.  
T.S.

You groaned and ran a hand trough your hair. Then you gathered two extra mugs, one of them filled with Earl Grey and the other filled with (motor oil) black coffee, and proceeded to carry them with your right hand. You held your own mug with your left hand and occasionally sipped the piping hot nectar from it while you wandered towards the right lab.

 

* * *

”Tony, if you don't want to get scrambled eggs seasoned with spices, you back off **now**!” you yelled at Tony the instant you had entered to the lab he had mentioned earlier. He was about to tackle you onto the floor when he had seen the styrofoam cup, but now he stopped still. You had taken _the stance_ ; your right leg was almost like bolted onto the floor while your left one was raised to give him a kick to the groin. You saw him swallow before taking a few steps backwards.

”Good. Here, enjoy your motor oil.” you muttered and offered the coffee filled mug towards him, and Tony took it in his hands instantly.

”Any chances there's whiskey in here?” he asked hopefully, and you sighed and shook your head slightly.

”Bummer...” Tony muttered but sipped the coffee anyways.

”...Um...”  
There was another man in the room who now stared the both of you surprised.

”I assume this goes for you then. Sorry, there weren't any donuts stocked in the cafeteria where I went. At least, I couldn't find any.” you said quietly while you offered the mug of tea towards Dr. Banner.

”Um, thanks.” he said as he took the mug carefully from your hand and you nodded at him. You managed to take a sip from your own mug before Tony seemed to remember as to why he had invited you into the lab in a first place. He took a hold of your better hand and dragged you to stand next to a table where the ´cool thing´ had been placed on.

”This is the cool little thingy I wanted you to see.” Tony said while you were silently staring at some sort of a weird looking scepter.

”Right...” you murmured, sipping at your coffee.

”Bruce and I are working with this stick of destiny, and, in the mean time –” Tony talked, and by taking a hold of your hand again, dragged you to one of the computers stationed around the laboratory.

”– you can use your amazing skills and infiltrate into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ´top secret´ databases. Now, what tools did you bring with you?” Tony babbled excitedly and for a moment, he completely ignored Dr. Banner's presence. You rolled your eyes at him and let out a silent sigh.

”You know, just the regular ones which you gave me in case something happens with ´herb ´n´ spices´.” you answered with a shrug and Tony nodded approvingly:  
”Good, okay.”

”Um, herb and spices...?” Dr. Banner wondered aloud while he was looking between the two of you, and you raised an eyebrow to Tony, meaning that you _will_ kick him in the groin if he reveals the right meaning behind the nicknames to the doctor.

”Oh, uh, yeah, it's a sibling thing, y'know, just some harmless code language, um... You haven't met Dr. Banner yet, haven't you, sis?” Tony said quickly before he sat down onto a office chair and whirled across the floor and all the way to the back of the room, where he started to use one of the computer panels.

”Hi, I'm Dr. Bruce Banner, nice to meet you, um...” Dr. Banner introduced himself while trying to remember your name and you flashed him a quick smile.

”Sully Stark. It's great to meet you too, Dr. Banner.” you said, feeling immensely proud that you didn't stutter while introducing yourself, and quickly shook his extended hand.

”Please, just call me Bruce, that is, uh, if it's okay to call you Sully?” Bruce said nervously while fidgeting with his tea mug.

”Sure, absolutely.” you said, offering him a small smile before you walked over to one of the free computer panels.

”Oh, yeah, almost forgot. Thought about warning you a little bit, doc, because I assume that Jarvis has been already plugged into the mainframe, and because Tony likes to play his music really loud while he's working, so, yeah, I'd advice you to use earplugs in case you still want to hear something when the day is over.” you said to Bruce and he nodded, albeit looking a little confused. Then you sat down onto a office chair, pulled your iPod out from your pocket, popped the earplugs into your ears and gave one last smile to Bruce before pushing the play-button and starting the computer in front of you.

”Um, why did she turned on her music player if you're going to play music anyways?” Bruce asked from Tony, who grinned at him, saying:  
”She's got a bit different taste in music than I have.”

And right after Tony had said that, Jarvis (who was, indeed, linked into the mainframe) hit the play-button and the speakers inside the lab started to blast out AC/DC's Shoot To Thrill with ear-shattering volumes.

”Oh, by the way, she is the quieter Stark!” Tony yelled through the music and Bruce looked absolutely shocked. Tony then let out a laugh before he shook his head and turned towards his computer in order to continue his calculations.


	8. Lab conversations

When approximately an hour had passed, Tony paused what he was doing and stood up from his seat. He was stretching his legs as he was walking behind your work station, but before he had completely passed you, he stopped to lightly tap at your left shoulder. You turned on your chair in order to look over your shoulder and you removed your earplugs after realizing it was Tony who looked like he wanted to talk to you:  
”Yeah?”

”Just thought about letting you know that I was going to go and make a call to Pepper, to ask about how she's doing and to tell her about our current situation.” Tony explained and started to make his way towards the glass doors of the lab after you gave him a slight nod.

”Okay, tell her I said hi.” you said.

”I will.” Tony said and the doors opened automatically to let him out, but before he had a chance to do so, you called after him:  
”Hey! It's _your_ turn to bring coffee!”

Tony didn't slow down as he turned to look back at you, he just smirked and waved before he stepped outside. Heaving a tired sigh, you ran your left hand through your hair, taking the headband away in the process, and your gloved fingers found the scar and touched it lightly. During your stay in the lab, you had started to feel a bit warmer so you had removed your jacket and placed it to hang from the back of your chair. You let out another silent sigh as you placed the headband back onto your head, and you asked while rubbing at the bridge of your nose:  
”Jarvis, what's the time?”

”It's uh, about seven twenty.”

It wasn't Jarvis who answered your question, but the quiet doctor who was using a computer not too far from you, but somehow you had still managed to forget his presence entirely while you were tapping down a fairly complex code. You turned to look at him, feeling a bit embarrassed.

”Oh... Thanks.” you said awkwardly and quickly turned your attention back towards the computer.

Silence fell into the room once again, but it was short lived when the doctor decided to strike a conversation with you, successfully startling you from your thoughts regarding the next piece of code string:  
”Um, would it be okay to ask that why do you have that, um, tuft of white hair?”

Your fingers stopped to hoover above the keys of the keyboard as your mind just simply blanked out for a second. Bruce had been eyeing your appearance (subtly, though) occasionally while you all had been working, but you hadn't noticed anything because you had been too engrossed with your coding business. But _now_ , you certainly noticed the quiet doctor, and you turned to look at him, a slightly hasty explanation ready to be delivered:  
”Well, there was a time when I had to visit a new hairdresser because my old one wasn't available at the time, and, uh, the new guy was just, very, _very_ bad at styling hair.”

Chills were running down your spine the instant you had finished talking, and you could feel how your heart quickened its pace as the unpleasant memories from two years ago tried to resurface into your mind again.

”Oh, okay.” Bruce said quietly while taking another look of your hair and (apparently) trying to imagine how it had happened in a first place. You were starting to grow more nervous by each passing moment, and a second before the silence would have become too suffocating, your phone dinged and you pulled it out from your pocket with slightly shaking hand:

Hey, J told your vitals are going  
haywire pretty soon. :|  
How well did you sleep last night?  
Anyway, you should go and  
get some rest soon.  
Pep says hello :), btw.  
T.S.

You let out a silent, relieved, sigh, and text him back:

Not all too well, to be honest.  
Saw a few nightmares.  
Again.  
About the whole... you know.  
S.S.

After you pocketed your phone, you rubbed the bridge of your nose with your better hand, feeling how the stress of the day started to take its toll from you. You dropped your hand down from your face and stood up from your chair before you saved and transferred the code into Jarvis's database.

”Well, I'm gonna go catch some rest for now. If you happen to see Tony again, tell him he's not allowed to do an all-nighter, again. If he tries to resist, tell him I said I'm gonna do an omelette for him when I see him next time.” you spoke to Bruce while you took your jacket in your hands and started to make your way towards the sliding doors. He looked at you, looking a bit confused, but he nodded to you nonetheless.

”Okay. Have a good night, Sully.” the doctor said, giving you a small smile. You managed a tiny smile of your own before you turned and stepped to the hallway.

You were making your way towards your room, when a certain thought slithered into your head and you let out a heavy sigh:  
 _”Oh god... I forgot to check my bed earlier... damn it...”_

You passed by several closed doors, each had a different name tag attached onto them, before you reached the correct door. You opened the door and stared into the room for a second while standing still on the doorway.

”Right... ascetic...” you muttered quietly as you stepped inside your closet-like room. You closed the door behind you and put the lock in place before you tossed your jacket onto a chair. Then you removed your gloves and stretched your arms above your head. You yawned and decided to check if there might be a working shower in the matchbox bathroom. Well, there was one, sort of.

After returning from the bathroom, you sat down onto the narrow bed and let out a groan. The mattress was just as hard as you had imagined it to be, and you knew that it won't offer your body the much needed support at all. After the defeating discovery, you thought about taking a nice, long, hot shower to ease away some of the tension from your stiff body before going to bed. Once you had stripped your clothes off, you stepped into the shower and turned it on. The water was cool at first, and you thought (hopefully) that it would warm up along the way, but alas, it stayed only lukewarm, making you shiver in cold the entire time it took from you to get yourself cleaned.

After you had had enough of the chilly shower, you stepped out of it and wrapped yourself into a sandpaper-like towel before you fumbled back into the bedroom again. You dried and clothed yourself in a record time, deciding to use a white tank top and cargos as your sleepwear.

You flexed your arms and legs a little while standing next to your bed, and your gaze wandered to stare at your right arm. You turned it around slowly while taking in its beauty, and a smile made its way onto your lips. Despite how talented and brilliant mechanic Tony was, he also tended to be a little bit mad (okay, _a lot _, actually), hence your latest pair of prostheses were now carrying miniature arc-reactors inside themselves. It had been a little bit disorienting at first, but when Tony had explained the reason behind the whole idea ( _”Well, I thought, that if you found yourself from a bad situation, and you would be unable to use your little trinket of awesomeness, you could at least blast off some of the troublemakers with your hand. Besides, don't they look just, super cool?”_ ), you had to admit he really was a genius with a good heart.__

__Heaving a sigh and a yawn, you turned off the lights before you crawled under the blanket. You were keeping up a hope that you would get at least a few hours of dreamless sleep before the nightmares would begin and startle you awake. You dreaded that some of your memories would come back to haunt you tonight, mainly because some of the triggers which usually set off your nightmares, had happened today. You breathed in deeply before you turned over onto your left side, and after closing your eyes, you quickly fell into light sleep._ _

__

__* * *_ _

__Tony waltzed back into the lab while carrying a mug of coffee with him. He wasn't surprised to notice how the doctor was working there alone, mainly because he had predicted that you might have wanted to hit the bed sometime soon. Bruce noticed Tony's arrival as he was examining the scepter with a special scanner._ _

__”The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports on the Tesseract, but I'm afraid it's gonna take weeks to process.” Bruce said, sounding concerned._ _

__”If we bypass their mainframe and direct a reroute to the Homer cluster, we can clock this around six hundred teraflops.” Tony said excitedly while he was messing with one of the computer panels. Bruce stared at him, feeling baffled._ _

__”... All _I_ packed was a tooth brush.” he said quietly from his working station. Tony smiled and sipped his coffee before waltzing closer to the doctor and the scepter._ _

__”You know, you should come by Stark Tower sometimes. Top ten floors are all R´n´D. You'd love it, it's a candy land. Sully practically lives there. I'm not joking, that kid could craft a car out of scraps.” Tony talked, and once he was sure Bruce wasn't looking at him, he sneakily reached his free hand and grabbed one of the miniature prods into his hold from the nearest table. Bruce's attention was on the scepter when he said, feeling embarrassed:  
”Thanks, but the last time I was in New York, I kind of broke... Harlem.”_ _

__Tony flashed a quick smirk as he casually strolled over to Bruce's other side. He took a sip from the mug before lowering it onto the table._ _

__”Well, I promise a stress free environment. No tension, no surprises.” Tony said and quickly jabbed Bruce's side with the prod._ _

__”Ow!?” Bruce yelped surprised and grabbed his side whilst Tony leaned in to stare at him closely._ _

__”Nothing?” Tony asked, intently looking for any hints of green from Bruce's eyes._ _

__Without any of them noticing it earlier, the guy who had short, sandy blond hair had walked into the lab, and now he was furious about Tony's behavior:  
”Hey! Are you nuts!?”_ _

__The guy (Captain America, or Steve Rogers, or just Steve (for your convenience)) yelled at Tony, who just shrugged him off, saying:  
”Jury's out.”_ _

__Then the genius continued, speaking directly to Bruce, purposefully ignoring the other man just to piss him off some more:  
”You really have got an lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?”_ _

__”Is everything a joke to you?” Steve asked from Tony, staring at him and wondering in his mind that was the other man a complete idiot?_ _

__”Funny things are.” Tony said, flashing a Stark-patented smile towards the Captain while remembering the day approximately two years ago when he had first seen your artificial arm (i.e. the ´handy´ hand)._ _

__

__After that, Tony and Steve argued with each others for a while before the blonde stormed out of the lab, feeling seriously pissed by Tony's jackass behavior. Tony and Bruce then continued to chat with each other, and after a while, it was becoming clearer that Tony was, indeed, going to spend the whole night in the lab, like you had said to Bruce earlier._ _

__”Your sister said that you shouldn't spend the whole night in here.” the doctor said while looking at the other man, who was currently in the middle of reading new data from one of the computer screens._ _

__”I know, but –” Tony started to object, but Bruce interrupted him, a small smirk threatening to widen into a full-blown grin:  
”Oh, she said something about making you an omelette the next time she sees you?”_ _

__Tony's face went completely blank, and he gulped as he pushed a few keys on the keyboard, locking the computer before he turned to fully look at the doctor._ _

__”Right, uh... should we call it a night then?” the genius asked, looking a little bit paler than a moment ago, and Bruce nodded, saying:  
”Might be wise. Besides, my instincts say that it might be for the best if I could avoid this... omelette myself, too.”_ _

__Tony nodded in silent agreement, and then they bid good nights to each others before venturing towards their respective quarters in order to try and catch some much needed sleep._ _


	9. Boulevard of Broken Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own the song, it is owned by Green Day.

*** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ***

”I am deeply sorry, Mr. Sullivan, there weren't any other choices left. The impact against her leg was too severe, it was impossible to even keep _count_ of all the broken bones she had in there. They were shattered almost into million pieces, as you can see from this x-ray here...”  
You heard through haze how a person (a man, you soon recognized) was speaking to someone else. And... was this someone your... dad?  
You started to feel confused, and frankly, a bit weird.

 _”Dad... are you there? Why can't I move my legs...”_ you were thinking, feeling how something wasn't quite right, like your head wasn't working properly. Then you heard quiet beeping coming from somewhere near you.

 _”Did Jared forgot that he had set the alarm to beep at some unholy hour... again...?”_ you thought to yourself and then heard how someone heaved a heavy sigh before the same man who had talked earlier, started to speak again:  
”Your daughter's right arm was in a bad shape too. Her whole arm was covered in third degree burns, nearly all of them were so deep they reached her shattered bones. We couldn't save it either. We tried, but at that point, she had lost too much blood, not to mention the fact that three of her ribs from her right side were broken too, and one of them had punctured her lung. We managed to save her lung, but in order to do so, we needed to remove the broken bones first.”

Now you were even more confused and finally tried to open your eyes, which felt like they were glued closed. Then you heard a _very_ familiar voice asking:  
”Can she, uh... is there any possibility that... God, this is horrible... Is there... um, is there any hope... that she can walk again?”

Your dad's low, warm voice drifted into your ears, and you forced your eyes open only to discover a unfamiliar, white ceiling above you, as you were, apparently, laying on your back in a narrow bed.

”I am very sorry, sir. As I have told, the impact was very violent. What comes to her spine, several of her thoracic vertebrates were fractured due the massive forces of the collision, and some of the shards managed to impale her spinal cord. There is really nothing we can do at this point. She might have a small, no more than thirty percent – could actually be lower than that, chance that she can walk again, but most of these kinds of patients will never achieve their abilities back. I am very sorry, Michael.”

You heard how this strange man spoke to your dad, and then you heard how your dad broke down into tears. You couldn't comprehend at all about what you were hearing.

”She is paralyzed from waist down, she has several other, severe injuries atop of that, and if those weren't enough, she also has to bury her fiancé... Why this happened to us? They were about to get married at summer, they were so happy, she was so happy...”

You heard your dad's shacking voice questioning the other man, who appeared to be a doctor. You couldn't actually see them, they weren't in the same room with you, but either in the room next to yours or in the hallway. You felt how something warm rolled down your right cheek. Your mind had started to work with a faster pace, and now you understood everything.

”No...” you whispered hoarsely before broken sobs started to wreck your injured body.

 

*** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ***

 

”No... Jared!” you shouted and sprung up to sit on your bed. Your breathing came out as rapid gasps while you turned your head around frantically.

When your mind had started to calm down a little bit, you discovered that you weren't in a hospital room, but inside a very ascetic room, you were currently sitting on a sad excuse of a bed, and you were also on board in a freaking _flying ship_ (!?).

You took several deep breaths before you ran both of your hands through your sleep-tousled hair and closed your eyes. You had just seen a nightmare, a haunting memory, from the car accident where you were in when you were seventeen. The same accident was the very reason why you lost a leg, an arm, three ribs and became paralyzed from waist down. Over time, and through pain and hell, you had gained all of them back, but sadly, they weren't the only thing you had lost at that faithful day all those years ago. Your beloved fiancé, your high-school sweetheart, died in the accident, and it hurt you more than your horrible injuries ever did. You two were living the time of your lives, you were young and beautiful and just overall happy before it all changed, leaving you alone with your all-too-vivid nightmares and sorrow. 

You heaved a sigh and opened your eyes before you stood up from your (Spartan) bed. You groaned when you checked the time from your phone; it was midnight, and you were fully awake now. After turning on the lights of your broom-closet, you tied your sneakers on your feet, pulled your gloves on your hands and fumbled your blue shirt over you. Then you tried to smooth out your hair a little before you exited from your room. There was no way you could catch any more sleep after experiencing that kind of nightmare, thus, you let your feet carry you towards the lab. You thought, since you were awake, that you could continue to infiltrate into the S.H.I.E.L.D.'s databases.

There weren't anyone in the lab when you arrived there, but all the lights were left on. You assumed that it was because this was a motherfu– I mean – a freaking _flying ship_ , that apparently housed hundreds of super-secret S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, as well as the super-secret boy band called as the Avengers, and this might even be a normal custom around here.

”Hey Jarvis, don't tell anything to Tony, okay? I'm going to continue my coding a bit further. I can't sleep anymore, saw a nightmare again.” you spoke quietly to the A.I. and flopped down onto a office chair.

”Very well, Miss. Shall I start the usual playlist?” Jarvis spoke, a hint of worry in his voice.

”Yeah... I kind of hope these fancy-ass glass walls are soundproofed.” you said and whirled towards the computer you had been working on earlier.

”Actually, they are. Sir has tested it already.” Jarvis answered, sounding a little displeased about the fact whilst making you smile a little.

”Alright, J, let's break the ceiling, shall we?” you said and right at that moment, Jarvis turned on the music, the speakers blasting out your favorite songs which were turned into instrumental format.

* * *

Your back was turned against the lab doors, and your body was hunched over the keyboard. You had been working on for good forty-five minutes, and now you were absentmindedly singing along with a song which mirrored your feelings from a moment ago:

”I walk a lonely road, the only road I have ever known...”  
You tapped the keys at the same beat as the music blasted, imagining that the keys were like piano keys.

”...Don't know where it goes, but it's home to me and I walk alone...”  
You sang aloud, your left leg tapping against the floor subconsciously.

”...I walk this empty street, on the boulevard of broken dreams...”  
You ran a hand through your hair and kept it still on the back of your skull for a few moments.

”...Where the city sleeps and I'm the only one and I walk alone...”  
There was a lonely figure who was walking behind the glass walls, but who then stopped to stare at your figure through the glass.

”...Oh! I walk alone, I walk alone...”  
You hummed the line quietly for few times and tapped at the keys in the same rhythm.

”...My shadow's the only one that walks beside me, my shallow heart's the only thing that's beating...”  
You sang and now stretched both of your arms up and over your head. The person behind the glass saw the motion and its heart fluttered a little.

”...Sometimes I wish someone up there will find me, 'til then, I walk alone...”  
You started to hum the next line, and after that, you continued to the next one:

”I'm walking down the line, that divides me somewhere in my mind; on the borderline, of the edge and where I walk alone...”  
The person from the hallway entered quietly into the lab, the doors made a swish-sound but you failed to notice anything.

”...Read between the lines, what's fucked up and everything's alright, check my vital sings, to know I'm still alive and I walk alone...”  
You were going to start the next line while you turned on your chair in order to wheel towards a table where another computer and a sealed bag of blueberries laid. All of your movements halted still when you suddenly discovered that there was someone else in the same room with you.

 _”Oh, hell no...”_ you thought, feeling extremely embarrassed while you were staring at Bruce. He stared at you in disbelief while holding a cup of tea in his hands.

”Ms. Sully, it appears that there is a visitor for you.” Jarvis informed you a tad too late, making you to facepalm yourself. The music had also stopped by now and you could have heard a pin drop.

”No kidding, J?” you muttered and sighed.

”Um, sorry that I interrupted your... working.” Bruce apologized to you, sounding nervous and slightly embarrassed.

”Great...” you breathed out quietly, and felt how your nervousness was rising again. Bruce must have heard your singing and now the hilarity would really ensue, right?

 _”How effing great this is... should have stayed at your own room, Kira...”_ you thought and turned back to your computer.

”...So, um, is there any particular reason why you're not currently sleeping?” Bruce asked timidly after a beat and after he had pulled a chair to himself.

”Nightmares, and the fact that the bed is harder than a concrete floor.” you answered quietly and finally wheeled over to the table where the tasty treat laid, the temptation grown too powerful to resist. You grabbed the blueberry bag with you before you quickly wheeled back to your work station.

”But why aren't _you_ on the bed yet?” you then asked from the doctor as he was sipping at his tea.

”Could say I had the same reasons as you had.” Bruce said, eyeing at your profile from where he was sitting.

”Mm.” you hummed and opened the bag, the heavenly aroma of dried berries rushing to greet you. You started to feel a little bit better as you now had your favorite comfort food within your reach.

”What was it like?” Bruce asked suddenly after you had popped a few berries into your mouth. You stared at him confused while you were slowly munching the tasty berries.

”Um, what?” you asked after you had swallowed and when you were reaching your better hand into the bag in order to scoop out a new handful of berries.

”Your nightmare? What was it like?” Bruce asked after he had taken a sip from his tea. Your hand stopped minutely before you let out a silent sigh and pulled it (alongside a couple of blueberries) out of the bag.

”Just, one of my regular ones.” you said before popping the berries into your mouth, unwilling to talk about that subject. You turned back to your computer panel and Bruce watched your working for a while, occasionally taking a sip from his tea. You felt his gaze on you and you sighed again, this time feeling more frustrated.

”What?” you asked, keeping your eyes on the numbers of the screen, purposefully not bothering to turn and face the doctor.

”Talking might help, and I have some time to listen.” Bruce said and finished his tea before placing the empty cup next to your right elbow as your table happened to be the nearest one. You glanced at the cup briefly before continuing to click the keys.

”I assume that Tony has already told you that I am the quiet one of our duo. I don't want to talk about my problems.” you talked quietly while erasing a few wrong numbers from a long sentence of code.

”But you like to sing them out.” Bruce pointed out. You sighed again and stayed silent while you cursed your passion to sing aloud when no-one was hearing inside your head.

”Sorry.” Bruce said and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. He had obviously managed to upset you and now he didn't know how to continue from the current situation.

You took a deep, calming breath while you tried to remind yourself that the doctor had done nothing wrong and that he just tried to help you feel a little bit better. As you were clicking the keys of the keyboard, starting a new sentence of numbers, you started to speak with a quiet voice:  
”There was a car accident when I was younger. A kind of accident that makes me see nightmares for time to time, they tend to be quite vivid sometimes.” 

”I was involved in a lab accident.” Bruce said while looking at his hands which were in his lap. You lifted your gaze from the computer and took a look of the brunette.

”...Guess we both have had some bad luck in our lives.” you said and stretched both of your hands slightly, your gaze wandering to look at your right one minutely.

”...You, uh, do you know what I am?” Bruce asked suddenly, his hands starting to wrung his wrists nervously as he lifted his eyes from them in order to look at you. You shrugged your right shoulder slightly and tapped down a few more numbers.

”For what I have heard, is that you are a brilliant scientist, and you also seem to be a man who can put up with Tony's constant annoyance. You seem to have a kind heart and an observant mind, and you have this calm and quiet aura around yourself, not many people have those qualities in themselves. You also seem to be a bit awkward and nervous, but who wouldn't be in a situation like this? And in my opinion, if it counts at all, you are hunted by absolutely no reasons.” you talked and popped again a few berries into your mouth while Bruce just stared at you disbelievingly.

”But I am a... what about the, uh... the other guy?” Bruce asked nervously and you huffed silently and turned to look at him again.

”Not something I would be afraid of because I _know_ there are far more scarier, more violent and cruel creatures out there than he is, or you could ever be.” you said calmly, putting all of your honesty into your words. Bruce looked shocked about what you just said, and you just smiled kindly and offered the blueberry bag towards him:  
”Blueberry?”


	10. One does not simply enjoy early mornings

”Welp, I guess my work here is done. I finished downloading the code into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s main server, I have also made few modifications in it so it now seems like Jarvis has been the one who has done all the dirty work and not me, or Tony, for that matter, if this agency happens to come across the little bug at all. I also slightly upgraded the algorithm that you two have been working on so it shouldn't take all that long to locate the weird Rubik's cube now.” you told to Bruce, who was reaching his hand in order to fetch a couple of blueberries from the bag that you were offering towards him. The doctor looked at you stunned.

”You and Tony are almost like identical to one another.” Bruce said, wondering, and you grinned a little.

”Funny, Pepper has said something similar once too, and she has exclaimed that she can tell the two of us apart only because I happen to have more white in my hair than Tony has.” you said as you placed the bag onto the table next to your computer screen.

”Well, there is one other exception to your similarities, and it is that you haven't tried to poke me, at least, not yet, with that electrical device laying over there.” Bruce said and pointed at the miniature electrical prod that someone had placed onto a table not far from your workstation. You turned to look at the said device before you heaved a sigh while facepalming yourself.

”Let me guess, Tony tried to get the other guy out, am I right?” you asked embarrassed.

”More or less, yes.” Bruce admitted, making you sigh again.

”Remind me in the morning that I change his coffee into the _real_ motor oil.” you said, running your right hand through your hair and feeling how the tiredness had finally started to return.

”That'll do.” Bruce said and smiled a little.

”Right... Jarvis, will you be a darling and inform one of us when you have reached the goal. I'm gonna go and try to catch at least a few hours more sleep.” you said to the A.I. while lifting yourself up from your chair.

”I will do as you said, miss. Have a good night.” Jarvis answered and you could have sworn that he sounded relieved.

”Bruce, I expect that you, too, would return back to your own room for now. Jarvis _will_ inform us at the instant when the bug has reached the base. Good night, I'll see you in the morning.” you talked while you made your way towards the sliding doors, and Bruce nodded and stood up from his chair too.

”Uh, okay. Good night, Sully.” Bruce said and you gave him a small smile before you exited from the lab. Bruce looked after you when the doors slid closed again, and then he looked at the pulse monitor resting around his left wrist. His pulse was faster now than it was before when he had returned to the lab after a pitiful attempt of trying to catch some decent sleep, and he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Then the doctor did as you had told him to do; he shut the lights from the lab and wandered back into his own, closet-like room.

 

* * * _timeskip: at six in the morning_ * * *

You awakened from the light sleep where you had fallen after the impromptu meeting with the doctor, and you felt sort-of happy (lucky, even) when you hadn't seen any more nightmares than the one you had experienced earlier. You stood up from your bed and clothed yourself, deciding to skip the shower as it was _way_ too early to take one if the water was as cold as it was at yesterday evening.

You yawned while pulling the jacket over your body, the Helicarrier felt rather chilly in this (ungodly hour) time of day. After you used the bathroom and tamed your hair, you pulled the gloves on your hands and slipped your wallet into one of the pockets of your cargos. It felt good to carry the wallet with you, one of the reasons being that you could never knew when you needed to buy something, being it simply a cup of coffee or something else. It was also one of the habits you had absorbed from Tony.

After letting out another yawn, you opened the door and stepped to the, luckily, deserted hallway. You closed the door behind you and begun to walk along the corridor, a clear destination firmly set into your mind. The coffee around the 'carrier wasn't nearly as good and fresh as it was at the Tower, but it would have to suffice for now.

Upon arriving to the cafeteria you found and used yesterday, you noticed that there were only a handful of other people occupying a few tables or either waiting their turn in a short queue.

 _”God, I need to have some extra strong espresso **right now**...”_ you thought after you had walked to the start of the line and had successfully battled against a very persistent yawn. You reached to take a mug from the mug hold before you went to wait your morning dose of coffee on the queue. One of the blond guys, the one who had huge biceps, was standing on the line ahead of you.

”I do not understand Midgard... How does one even uses this – this ´Automatic Coffee Machine´ – for their quest to enjoy a cup of the glorious black nectar?”

It was impossible _not to_ hear how the guy was wondering aloud, and you glanced around yourself, only to discover of how everyone else had already hurried away from the area, leaving the two of you behind. You groaned inside your mind and scratched the back of your head with your free hand, feeling all too tired to cope with the whole situation at the time like this.

”Well, what kind of brew do you prefer? There's the average ´latte´-type, the ´motor oil´-type, the ´slap-on-the-face´-type, the hardcore ´nuke-the-guts!´-type, and the ´kill-it-with-fire!´-type.” you listed the available options quietly while still standing behind him. The man turned around to look at you, looking surprised to notice that there was someone else waiting for their share of coffee. He turned to look at the machine again, eyebrows furrowed and a large ceramic mug being grasped in his right hand.

”Do you know how to use this strange device?” he asked and pointed at the machine in question. You managed to barely stifle a yawn as you nodded.

”It's not rocket-science, y'know. Just place the cup under that nozzle and then push the right button above it.” you instructed him, pointing at the right places, your voice coming out slightly quieter than usually, a tell-tale sign that you _still_ needed to actually _wake up_ to the new day. The blonde placed his mug under the nozzle, but didn't seem to know as to what button to press.

”I do not know what button should I press, but I prefer to drink it black.” he admitted, observing the different options, and you started to wonder as to where this guy even comes from?

”Ah, then it's probably the regular ´motor oil´-type. Uh, it's the second button.” you said, pointing at the correct button, and the man nodded before bushing it. His face cracked into a huge smile when fresh coffee started to pour into his mug.

”This is truly magnificent! I shall bring one of these machines back to Asgard!” he boomed enthusiastically. You stared at him and swore that your hearing deteriorated a little.

”Right...” you muttered, blinking, and the blonde took the mug from under the nozzle when the machine had finished his order. He stepped away from the machine in order to let you use it too. You shoved your cup under the nozzle and hit down the ´nuke-the-guts!´ button. The guy observed what you were doing, amazed by your choice of coffee.

”How come a maiden like you would want to choose a beverage as strong as that?” he wondered aloud while you took your now-filled mug from under the nozzle. You lifted the mug and took a careful sip of the fluid before nodding your head approvingly.

”Aah, much better... Hmm? Oh, yeah, didn't get much sleep last night.” you answered after the question had reached your awaking brain, and before you wandered to sit around a table. The blonde followed you there and stopped to stand next to your table.

”I am afraid I can not recall your name, lady...” he started.

”Oh? Name's Sully Stark. Or just Sully.” you said and the man bowed his head slightly.

”I wish to thank you, lady Sully, for your aid. I am not completely accustomed to Midgardian technology yet.” he said and you wondered in your head as to why he was talking like that in a first place?

”Yea, um, there's really no need to thank me, mister...” you said and he introduced himself:  
”Thor, son of Odin.”

”...Mr. Thor. Please, uh, could you at least sit down, you look way too energetic at this unholy hour when you are standing like that.” you then said and pointed at the seat across you. He nodded and sat down. A silence fell between the two of you as you both were enjoying your beverages.

 

When approximately ten minutes had passed, you noticed how the director stepped into the cafeteria and after taking a sweeping glance around the premises, he started to walk towards your table.  
”Excuse me, Ms. Stark, but may I have a word with you?” director Fury asked from you the instant he had stopped next to your table, and his stance implicated that his issue was urgent. You nodded hurriedly and stood up from your seat.

”Right, okay. Excuse me Thor, I need to go now.” you said to Thor, who bowed his head again. You then started to follow the director as he was walking ahead of you. He remained silent as the two of you walked along a hallway, and you didn't feel like questioning him by yourself.

”Here.”Fury said after stopping in front of a (presumably) correct door. He then opened it and let you step in first.

”I know that this might come from behind the trees, but there's something I need to ask from you.” Fury started speaking right after he had closed the door behind himself. You felt confused but didn't get a change to say anything before he continued:  
”If the things here took a course towards the _very_ warm place, would you be willing to help the Avengers and our agents as well as you ever can?”

You stared at the director confused and ran your right hand through your hair subconsciously.  
”Well, I guess I don't really have a choice if the things really _do_ go that way, and I _do_ want to help Tony as well as I can.” you answered slowly, and Fury nodded.

”I assume that you don't have same kind of armor as Tony has?” he then asked and you shook your head.

”You're right, I don't have, but he did upgrade my prostheses last week.” you said and smirked.

”I don't even _want_ to know what he did to them so I just go with the assumption that you are capable of kicking some enemy asses with them if the situation calls for it?” Fury said and opened the door.

”Oh, definitely.” you said, your smirk only widening, and just when you were walking out of the room, Fury placed his hand to his ear.

”Sounds like we have a damn situation there.” he said to his earpiece before storming towards the direction of the lab. You felt slightly worried and confused and decided to follow the man.

 

When you reached the lab, Fury was already there shooting some questions towards Tony and Bruce, sounding collectively pissed:  
” _What_ are you doing, Mr. Stark?”

”Uh... Kind of been wondering the same thing about you.” Tony countered while leaning against one of the tables. The doctor was standing next to him, arms crossed against his chest. You slipped silently to stand near one of the computers located at the back of the lab.

”You're _supposed_ to be locating the Tesseract.” Fury said, angrily and disappointingly.

”We are! The model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile.” Bruce said, pointing at the computer that was searching the said signature.

”And you'll get your cube back, no muss, no fuss. By the way, what is Phase two?” Tony then said and pointed at the computer screen hoovering next to his left side. It showed a collection of secret files of which Jarvis had found from the database with the help of your little ´bug´. You started to suck at your lower lip nervously.

”Phase two is S.H.I.E.L.D. using the cube to make weapons.” the other blond guy said from behind the three arguing men after dropping a some sort of a rifle onto the table. He looked, and even sounded that he was seriously ticked off. The three men turned to look at him.

”Sorry, the computer was moving a little slow.” the blonde then quipped to Tony. You started to feel offended by his exclamation, because you had spend quite a lot of time in the lab in your attempt to infiltrate into the database. You were about to say something back to him but didn't get the chance to do so when Fury said to the guy:  
”Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This doesn't mean we're –”

”I'm sorry, Nick. What were you lying?” Tony interfered, turning the computer screen so that everyone could see the various plans of the Tesseract related weapons.

”I was wrong, director. The world hasn't changed a bit.” Rogers said to Fury, his voice laced with disapproval. Just then, Thor and a redheaded woman entered to the lab. The woman kept her eyes locked on the doctor, making him to shift his stance slightly. You noticed the change in his behavior, the clear sign of nervousness that came when the redhead entered into the room, and it somewhat started to agitate you too. No-one didn't seem to notice _your_ presence though, so you sat down quietly onto one of the office chairs nearby.

”Did you know about this?” Bruce asked from the woman, pointing at the screen with his glasses.

”You wanna consider about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?” the woman asked from Bruce, ignoring his question. Everyone started to pay attention to the situation between the two of them. The doctor let out a dry huff of laugh before answering:  
”I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed.”

”Loki's manipulating you.” the woman then stated calmly.

”And you've been doing what, exactly?” Bruce asked. You saw him grow more and more stressed about the situation. Then you suddenly noticed something happening on your perimeter. You turned your head in order to look at the weird phenomena, and you raised an eyebrow in confusion when you saw how the scepter behind Tony and Bruce started to glow brighter.

”You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you.” the redhead said to Bruce, her intense gaze still trained on him, like he was some sort of a prey to her.

 _”I wouldn't do that if I was you...”_ you thought to yourself, feeling how the familiar nagging returned to the back of your skull. You had always been a person who managed to turn quite nervous very easily, and you knew very well all the signs of distress.

”Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy. And I'd like to know why S.H.I.E.L.D. is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction.” Bruce said and then Fury pointed at Thor:  
”Because of him.”

Thor looked confused when the attention was turned towards him, and he asked:  
” _Me?_ ”

The arguing started to heat exponentially while the scepter glowed even brighter.  
”Last year earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge mass that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, _hilariously_ , out gunned.” Fury spoke.

”My people want nothing but peace with your planet!” Thor tried to defend himself and his people.

”But you're not the only people out there, are you? And you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, they can't be controlled.” Fury tried to make a point for everyone inside the room.

”Like you ´controlled´ the cube?” Rogers pointed out.

”Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is the signal to all the realms that the earth is ready for a higher form of war.” Thor said, earning a confused look from Rogers.

”A higher form?” Rogers asked from the other blonde. You started to get uncomfortable about the whole arguing, and you wrapped your arms around you protectively.

”You forced our hand. We had to come up with something.” Fury tried to explain with no avail.

”Nuclear deterrent. 'Cause that always calms everything down.” Tony pointed out and Fury turned to glare at him.

”Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?” Fury quipped back, making Tony look and feel offended. The atmosphere inside the lab started to weigh more and more as the arguing kicked in a new gear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The different types of coffee that they serve in the ´carrier:
> 
> latte _Coffea arabica_ with milk or cream
> 
> motor oil plain _Coffea arabica_ with or without added sugar
> 
> slap-on-the-face 1/3 of _Coffea canephora_ and 2/3 of _Coffea arabica_ with or without sugar
> 
> nuke-the-guts! 2/3 of _Coffea canephora_ and 1/3 of _Coffea arabica_ with or without sugar
> 
> kill-it-with-fire! extra-large serving made plainly of _Coffea canephora_ without dairy products and/or sugar, keeps the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. up and running for good 48 hours straight (if needed)
> 
>  _Coffea canephora_ has at least twice as much caffeine as _Coffea arabica_ has (according to Wikipedia).


	11. Black clouds

The so-called team of superheroes continued their loud arguing and you decided that you had had enough of it already. You stood up silently from your seat and looked around yourself. Rogers and Tony were biting hurtful comments to each others. The redheaded woman was now almost stalking Bruce, who seemed to have gotten even more nervous (and angrier?) than before. Thor offered witty comments to all of them and Fury pretty much yelled to everyone equally.

One of the comments that Rogers spouted hurt both you and Tony, you knew better than the blonde that Tony was a guy who _will_ sacrifice himself without a second thought if he could save someone else's life by doing so.

”You will _not_ speak like that when my sister is present!” Tony yelled back to Rogers. Everyone stopped their yelling when they realized that you were in the same room with all of them.

”Why did you have to bring a civilian here anyways?! Are you really that dimwitted?!” the blonde yelled to Tony after he had looked at you, and that was the last straw that did the thing for you:  
”Hey! Call him a dimwitted _one more time_ and you'll regret it the rest of your life!”

The anger coming off from you was almost palpable, and the look you were sending towards the blonde could have turned water into ice in a heartbeat. Tony was looking at you amused, and he felt kind of proud about the way you were behaving right now. He had never heard you raise your voice in any kind of situation before, and this one right here was something he was sure he would value till the eternity.

”You will only hurt yourself, miss, if you'd try and hit me.” Rogers warned you and Tony snorted behind him. By the end of his sentence, you had balled your right hand into fist and were more than ready to bunch the crap out of him.

”Sully, I give you all clear to season him a little with Herb. Just, let me take my phone out first, I wanna get it into tape...” Tony said and Rogers turned to face him again, ready to yell back at him.

But before any of you had a chance to do or say anything, one of the computers beeped loudly, signaling that the cube was found and Bruce went to confirm the result. He took only a one look of the screen before his eyes grew wide.

”Oh my god...” he whispered and then, ladies and gentlemen, everything went straight to hell.

 

The whole room shook when a huge explosion rocked the Helicarrier, the vibrations of it reverberated throughout the metal structures and made something under the lab explode. You yelped when the shockwave hit your body forcefully, sending you, as well as the doctor and the redhead, through the windowed wall at the other side of the room. You fell several feet through the air before you landed onto the metal floor, right side first, and you gasped for pain. The sudden and violent impact had hit all air out of your lungs, and you tried to inhale as deeply as you could, your breathing coming out in nothing but short gasps and pants while your eyes stung from unshed tears.

Inside the destroyed lab, Tony and the blond guy (Rogers, or just Steve) were thrown towards each others, and after Steve had managed to stood up from the floor, he helped Tony to stand up too. Director Fury and Thor were send flying towards another direction.

”Put on the suit!” Steve said urgently to Tony, but he didn't hear him or had chosen to ignore him in order to seek you out first. His heart had skipped a beat or two when he had heard your startled yelp. Tony didn't want to lose his little sister, he had made a silent promise that he would do anything to protect you from any harm. Unfortunately, it had started to seem like his promise was crumbling down by each passing second.

”Kira!?” Tony called out frantically, not even acknowledging that he had called you by your real name, before he reached towards the shattered wall, only to be pulled back before he managed to get close enough to peer down.

”Put – on – the – _suit_!” Rogers said again, sounding even more urgent than before, and Tony gazed towards the window again.

”Uh, right!” Tony said and reluctantly followed Steve to the hallway before he started to run towards the room where his suit was. He was determined to return to your side right after he had put on his armor, he couldn't let himself break that promise too.

 

You opened your watering eyes only to notice how the redheaded woman and Bruce had fallen down with you. Her leg was trapped under a large metal pipe and she seemed to be in pain too. You turned your head and saw how Bruce's body was hunched down, his back was moving as he tried to breathe deeply in order to calm himself down. You started to push yourself upwards, very carefully, while using your right hand as a leverage. You gasped when a jolt of pain surged through your right side just as you had pushed yourself into a sitting position on the floor.

”Doctor... Bruce, listen to me. You gotta fight it. This is just what Loki wants. We're gonna be okay. Please, listen to me.” the woman pleaded and you could hear fear within her voice. Bruce started to moan and growl, and as a final attempt in order to calm himself down, he started to ball and release both of his fists. You clenched your teeth together and hauled yourself up and standing, the action send pain course through you with great force, but you still somehow managed to walk over to the trapped redhead and the agony-ridden doctor. The woman turned her head in order to look at you.

”Help me?” she mouthed pleadingly, and you nodded silently before bending slightly and taking a grip of the metal pipe with your right hand. She continued to speak to Bruce:  
”We're gonna be okay. Right? I swear on my life I will get you out of this, you will walk away, and never –”

Her scared pleading was interrupted when Bruce yelled at her:  
” _YOUR LIFE!?_ ”

His voice had changed, it sounded more inhumane now, and then he growled in agony and dropped down from the metal platform where he and the redhead had landed. You used all of your might and willpower to lift the pipe that was trapping the other woman, and you succeeded to free her leg.

”Bruce?” she asked fearfully while staring behind your shoulder. You turned to look behind you, and what you saw there, made your eyes go wide. Bruce was transforming into something else, something much more larger and angrier, his muscles were growing rapidly and his skin was changing its colour into dark green. He let out a growl before collapsing onto the floor. Then the doctor shot one last, desperate look behind himself before the transformation took over the fight.

Taking advantage of the seemingly hopeless situation, you quickly whispered to the redhead:  
”Go. Now.” 

”I'm not leaving you here.” she argued, her voice coming off as a whisper too.

”Yes you are.” you said, quickly looking behind your shoulder. Bruce had stood up and now he was taking a few steps forward.

”You can't survive from his rage –” the redhead whispered, panicking over your safety.

”I am stronger than you think I am. Now _GO_!” you whisper-yelled and shoved her as gently as you could towards a stairway. Bruce banged one of the metal pipes with his fist while letting out a loud growl. The woman looked at you and then Bruce, she looked terrified, but still managed to climb up the stairs.

 _”Right... What was the plan again, Kira...?”_ you thought to yourself just when Bruce turned to stare at you, anger plastered over his face. You just stood there, unable to move as you stared straight into his eyes which were glowing green.

Then Bruce – no, he wasn't Bruce anymore, wasn't he? – the Hulk, growled and sprinted forward, towards you, but you stayed perfectly still. He raised his hand in order to hit you to the floor, but you quickly moved to the right side, dodging his massive fist as the adrenaline coursing inside your veins finally kicked in. Then he tried to hit you again, probably feeling even more aggravated when he hadn't managed to land his first hit onto you, and you dodged him swiftly, this time twirling behind him. Your action seemed to only spark his rage, but you still tried to lure him away from the redheaded woman. When you noticed that she wasn't anywhere near you and the Hulk anymore, you started to search for a escape route to yourself. Hulk roared when you sprinted towards a narrow corridor, and quickly started to chase you there.

 _”Aand now he needed to follow me... great...”_ you thought as you quickened your pace. The Hulk smashed down everything and anything around him so that he could get to you faster. You glanced briefly behind your shoulder and just at that moment, Hulk lifted his left hand and aimed a blow onto your right side. The force send you straight towards one extremely hard iron wall that stood to your left side. You collapsed onto the floor and wailed quietly.

”Not... good... at all, Kira...” you muttered quietly while gasping for air and trying to clear your hazy-feeling head.

The green giant stomped next to you and sneered down on you. You blinked and stared at him with your gray eyes, and he reached one massive hand towards you. You tried to will yourself to move away from him, but he managed to grab you on his hold anyway, his right hand wrapping around your waist securely. Then he lifted you like you were a rag doll and pinned you up against a wall. You breathed a helluva lot faster now as he was staring at you straight into eye.

After a few seconds, his gaze traveled from your face to look at your hair, and he squinted his eyes when he saw the white tuft amongst your otherwise auburn hair. You felt surprised to say at least, since you were sure that he would have smashed you onto the floor the instant he would have caught you.

Hulk stared at your hair for a few heartbeats before his expression changed slightly, it looked like he was trying to remember something, something _important_. The angry giant then turned his eyes to stare at your face again. You managed to pull a wavering smile onto your lips, making his eyes widen with surprise, perhaps? Though, his eyes didn't go nearly as wide as yours did when he did something very unexpected:  
” _ **BLUEBERRY?**_ ”

Hulk asked with deep, booming voice, and you stared at him, like, seriously?!

”Uh... Sorry, I – I don't have them with me now...” you managed to answer, the green hand tightening its hold around your waist a little bit more.

” _ **SULLY.**_ ”

Hulk said then, but before you could recover your lost speaking ability, you both were suddenly send flying through a wall. You hit the floor when Hulk's hold of you had loosened as he, too, was sweeping over the floor. You opted to stay completely still for a moment, just laying in a fetal position against the gleaming floor, everything hurting like hell and your head spinning like a freaking merry-go-round.

When you felt like you wouldn't gag your innards out the instant you would have even _thought_ about moving yourself, you slid your eyes open slowly, only to witness how Thor and Hulk were fighting against each other. You blinked slowly for a couple of times, and barely felt like believing your eyes when you discovered that you all were currently inside a some sort of an aircraft hangar (like, seriously? There is an aircraft hangar _inside_ a freaking _FLYING SHIP!?_ ).

You hauled yourself up from the floor (again), and noticed how everyone were running away from the hangar like bats out of hell while the battle between the two forces of freaking nature continued to rage on. You swallowed dryly and reached to grab your medallion out from one of the pockets of your cargo pants. Your gut twisted at the sight of the pendant, it was definitely broken by the way how a couple of wires were sticking out from under the metal casing which was also slightly cracked and bend.

”Uh, oh, not good at all...” you whispered to yourself as you stood perfectly still while staring at the broken device resting on your right palm.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

”Jarvis, is she okay!? Tell me that my sister is okay!?” Tony shouted, panicking, while wearing his armor and trying his hardest to fix the malfunctioning turbine outside the 'carrier. The good Captain was playing a game of toss-a-ball (well, the ball was actually a hand grenade, but you get the idea) with the enemy soldiers inside the blasted area near the turbine.

”I can not reach her medallion, sir, I'm afraid it might have been broken down.” Jarvis answered, worry evident in his voice, making Tony's heart skip a beat.

”What!? Is she – does it mean she is –!?” Tony questioned, unable to finish his sentence. He couldn't and wouldn't accept it, he had vowed to protect you by any means necessary.

”Wait, sir! I can see her now, she is currently in the aircraft hangar, accompanied by Thor and Hulk.” Jarvis interrupted Tony's inner turmoil, emitting a quiet gasp from the genius.

 _”God, please, I have never asked anything from you before, but please, save her! Save Kira!”_ Tony prayed in his mind, a million thoughts racing in his head while he tried to repair the turbine. Glancing around hastily, his eyes caught a sight of a jet that emerged from the other side of the Helicarrier and quickly flew out of his sight.

”Sir, there seems to be an armed jet targeting the Hulk as we speak. Unfortunately, it also seems that Ms. Kira is situated in the same room with the giant, sir.” Jarvis informed suddenly, emergency ringing through his artificial voice, and Tony could _feel_ how his innards froze over in an instant.

”No, no, not her, not Kira – _**NO!**_ ” he yelled aloud and then heard through the open connection (as Jarvis was connected into the helicarrier and its security cameras) how bullets were hitting onto something, and then he heard something more horrifying; a bloodcurdling scream that you let out.

”Kira...” Tony whispered, shocked, after your voice had faded away and he could only hear mixed background noises coming through the line.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Your basic survival instincts had finally kicked in, and now you found yourself standing in an intact and deserted room. You were grasping at your right side with your better hand as your gaze swept across the large room. The room was located at the backside of the 'carrier, one of the walls was made entirely out of glass and you saw how the sun was shining brightly in the sky. You managed to take another step towards the center of the room from the doorway before you were startled by a loud roar coming from the direction of the hangar, the whole room shook suddenly and Thor and Hulk crashed inside. You yelped and steadied yourself against the door frame whilst the two of them continued their fight.

You lifted your gaze from the floor to look up, and that was when you saw how an aircraft stopped to hoover right behind the windowed wall. Your heart skipped a beat or two when it seemed to lock its weapons onto the green giant.

”Get down!” you shrieked, gaining Thor's attention enough for him to extract himself from the fight, his body quickly diving towards another doorway.

”Aw crap.” you muttered to yourself, seeing that the green behemoth haven't moved an inch, and, by using all of your might, you quickly pushed yourself away from the doorway and stepped to face the giant.

”Look out!” you said to Hulk, panicking, while pointing your right hand towards the intimidating flying object. Hulk whipped his head to look behind himself, and he let out a loud grumble at the sight of the jet. But before any of you could do anything, the pilot inside the jet pulled the trigger and a shower of bullets landed onto the window, breaking it down in a blink of an eye. The big guy turned his back quickly towards the jet and the bullets and reached his hands around your body, enveloping you securely against himself. You were sure that your eyes were as big as saucers were, and they surely widened even more when Hulk lifted you off the floor before you could utter any kind of disagreement. Suddenly, Hulk let out a _very_ loud roar before sprinting sideways towards the jet.

You let out an incoherent stream of words before your voice morphed into a terrified scream as the giant leaped through the broken window and flew in the air before landing neatly on top of the aircraft. Unfortunately, Hulk's hold around your body slipped loose and you found yourself flying in the air and over the jet. You saw how Hulk started to rip the jet into pieces, it felt like everything moved in slow motion before your flip over the jet turned into a freefall. You tried to reach your right hand towards the jet when something exploded in the said jet, and you felt something connecting with your head (rather hard) before everything went black.


	12. Those who are left behind

Tony was sitting on a chair next to the large table at the mainbridge of the Helicarrier. It felt like their newbie team had gathered there a lifetime ago and not half a day ago when the things had been somewhat more calm than they were now. Tony glanced over at the agents who were navigating the ship – plane – whatever the hell the 'carrier actually was, his face was blank as he tried to recall about what had happened earlier. Honestly, he wished that he would have a cup of coffee in front of him, the special blend that was made by his sister as she always added a shot of his favorite whiskey in it. Pepper didn't quite approve it, but she admitted that Tony had cut down his drinking (quite drastically) because of her.

Hell, he didn't want _coffee_ , he wanted _you_ to be there, sitting beside him.

He had wanted to see how you would have hit Steve with Herb; that surely would have been fun.

 

The attack towards the Helicarrier resulted into great casualties which could, and should, have been avoided entirely.

Sully Blues Stark was amongst them, as well as the agent ´Agent´ Phil Coulson.

The Agent had faced Loki all by himself, the trickster had stabbed him onto his back with his glow-stick of destiny before escaping to who knows where.

Thor was gone too, Loki had tricked him inside his holding cell before dropping him down from the 'carrier. It was uncertain if the God of Thunder had survived the fall.

The doctor was out of the picture too, no-one knew where he had fallen and whether he was alive or not.

Now there were three people left behind of the team who were capable of avenging Loki's victims;  
There were Tony Stark; the Iron Man, Steve Rogers; Captain America, and Natasha Romanoff; the Black Widow.

It was a lucky strike that they had gained back one of their own; Clint Barton, a.k.a. the Hawkeye. He had been under Loki's spell and was freed from it by a firm bunch onto his head, all thanks to the Black Widow. Though it was a bit uncertain if he could be any help due to the possible trauma regarding the blow, not to mention the whole mind-control experience.

 

Steve glanced at the genius, unable to say anything. He had taken a seat a couple of chairs to Tony's right.  
”I am really sorry for your loss.” the soldier said quietly, but Tony just shook his head.

”Just, don't.” Tony said with pained voice and Steve turned silent again. Everyone coped with sorrow differently, even he knew it. He couldn't imagine greater sorrow than to lose one of your own family, your own sibling for that matter.

The Director then entered to the room before none of them get to do or say anything, it looked like he was holding something in his hands as he neared the table. He walked to stand at the end of the table, facing the two men while eyeing the pieces in his grasp.

”These were on Phil Coulson's jacket. Guess he never get you to sign them.” Fury said and tossed three cards onto the table. They were near mint Captain America trading cards, now stained with blood. Steve looked at the colorful cards and reached to take one of them in his hand.

”We're dead in the air up here. Our communications, location of the cube, Banner, Thor. I got nothing for you. Lost my only good eye. Maybe I had that coming...” Fury started speaking to the two silent figure, and he moved his hands behind his back as he continued:  
”Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never put all my chips on that number though, because I was playing something even riskier. There was and idea – Stark knows this – called The Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea, in heroes.”

At this, Tony gritted his teeth together and balled a hand into a fist under the table.

”Well, it's an old fashioned notion.” Fury said as he finished his monolog, and then walked over to Tony before reaching his hand into the pocket of his long jacket, fetching out a small piece.

”Only thing we managed to find. I am truly sorry for your loss, Tony. We all are.” Fury said and offered the broken medallion towards Tony. He inhaled sharply and stood up from his seat before taking the device into his hand and leaving the room in a hurry. Fury placed his hands back behind his back and turned to speak to the woman who was nearing the table:  
”Agent Hill, I want this to be marked into the files as well as the database; Sully Blues Stark, age thirty; died in a battle against Loki on fifth of may, two-thousand twelve...”

Steve stood up from his seat and walked out of the mainbridge before Fury had finished his sentence regarding the casualties of the attack.

 

* * *

Tony walked down the long hallways and stopped when he had reached the door and the room he had been looking for. He ground his teeth together and opened the door quickly and silently. He was now standing in the doorway of your room, and heaving a sigh, he closed the door behind him and walked over to the very narrow, very uncomfortable bed. The genius cringed involuntarily when he flopped down to sit on it, and he heaved yet another sigh, this one being loudest and saddest of them all. He lowered the medallion onto the bed next to him and rubbed the bridge of his nose furiously.

”Jarvis, is there any possibility to hear her voice, y'know, for the uh, last time? Even for a short phrase will do...” Tony asked quietly and buried his face between his hands, his eyes being squeezed tightly shut.

”Actually, there is.” came the A.I.'s answer.

”Play it, please.”

It didn't take more than few seconds before Tony lifted his face from his hands, his eyes widening slightly. He was hearing Jarvis's recording from last night, and it contained your voice that was singing out loud to the beat of the music. 

”Green Day... She had seen _that_ nightmare again...” Tony said quietly to himself, and he swallowed hard at the sheer thought of it.

”Sir, may I interrupt your mourning?” Jarvis asked after a awhile, and Tony sighed.

”Sure, go ahead, you already did so...” he answered and took the broken device into his hand, turning it around on his palm.

”I have received an unusual, or should I say, a strange message, relating to Ms. Kira's artificial body parts.” Jarvis spoke and Tony looked up at the wall opposite him, feeling confused.

”Uh, what?” he asked and Jarvis spoke again:  
”It seems that there has been a short period of time when her leg and arm repulsors have been used. They were on use approximately four minutes after they were automatically activated.”

Tony was now staring at the wall without actually seeing it, his eyes were wide open while his mind was racing wildly.

”No way they could have worked like that...” Tony whispered to himself before standing up from the bed.

”I didn't even operate them to work automatically in a first place! And just _how_ could they have send a message into your system?” Tony said and started to pace around the room.

”I do not know, sir, but I do know that this message is real.” Jarvis answered.

”Does this mean that... She is alive?” Tony asked then, hoping it could be true. He _wanted_ it to be true.

”We may only pray for that possibility, sir.” Jarvis said.

”Kiddo, I know you are tough, but I can't shake off the fear that you have left me behind...” Tony whispered and stared at the medallion resting on his open palm.


	13. A.B.I.G.A.I.L.

” _ACTIVATE THE EMERGENCY PROTOCOL 2-5-8-3-7!_ ”  
A quiet hum would have been heard after the command if the wind hadn't been howling so loudly around the falling figure. The person – or simply, just you – were currently on a freefall, your back currently facing the hard ground with increasing velocity. If you would have been conscious, as scary as _that_ sounded, you would have noticed how the exploding jet send the Hulk rocketing past you by your left side. The sudden gust of wind rushing past you managed to turn your body so that you were now falling towards the ground, _head_ first.

” _RUN THE SAFETY-CHECKS TO 4-3-7-2, HERB, AND 7-7-4-2-3-7, SPICES!_ ”  
The humming got louder after the second command.

” _ALL SYSTEMS ARE CLEAR! PREPARE TO THE IGNITION!_ ”  
The humming sound turned very loud, and the metal seams of your leg and arm started to glow with bright blue light.

” _IGNITE IN THREE – TWO – ONE – GO!_ ”  
A metallic screeching-sound resounded when both of your artificial limbs shot out light blue beams from themselves, destroying your glove and sneaker in the process and making you to spin forwards quite rapidly.

” _BALANCE THE FLIGHT BY REDUCING THRUSTCAPACITY FOR FIVE PERCENT!_ ”  
Your frantic spinning slowed down before stopping entirely, and you continued your falling with slower speed.

” _ESTIMATED TIME TO LAND IS WITHIN THREE MINUTES! RUN THE LANDING-PROTOCOLS AND BYPASS THE FIREWALL BY USING THE ACCESSCODE 5-4-7-2, SEND A MESSAGE OF THE FIRST FLIGHT TO THE SYSTEM OF J.A.R.V.I.S.!_ ”  
You continued your now steady, albeit unconscious, flight through the air, but even though your falling speed had been reduced significantly, you were still going to crash-land heavily onto the ground.

” _PREPARE TO LAND IN TEN – NINE – EIGHT – SEVEN –_ ”  
You were closing the cap between yourself and the hard surface of the Earth too fast.

” _– SIX – FIVE – FOUR –_ ”  
The two mini arc-reactors inside your limbs were adding more power to your repulsors, and they luckily managed to slow down the falling speed drastically.

” _– THREE – TWO – ONE!_ ”  
It was still evident that whatever your falling speed was, you were still going to crash down onto a huge warehouse that laid straight underneath you. And, well, it was probably a fool's luck that there happened to be a gaping hole on the roof that allowed you to dive through it without a problem.

The two repulsors were reducing their power before they shut themselves down entirely, making you fall without any kind of interference onto the hard ground from eight whole feet, your injured right side taking the biggest hit. Admittedly, it couldn't be called as a smooth first landing, but at least you weren't resembling a human pancake now.

” _CHECK THE SYSTEMS FOR INTERNAL DAMAGES!_ ”  
Your arm and leg were smoking a little bit whilst you were laying on the concrete floor, still very much unmoving and unconscious.

” _ALL SYSTEMS CLEAR! CONGRATULATIONS FOR YOUR FIRST FLIGHT, KIRA! A.B.I.G.A.I.L. HAS BEEN ACTIVATED AND IS UNDER YOUR COMMAND. HAVE A NICE DAY!_ ”  
The strange voice informed cheerily, sounding happy to itself. But what was the most interesting thing about the whole situation, was that the voice didn't seem to belong to an actual person at all, yet it still somehow echoed all around your unconscious body. Or maybe it only felt like that, because the voice actually echoed all _inside_ of your body, and isn't that weird or what? 

 

The warehouse where you managed to crash land, wasn't as empty as it first seemed. There was a mountain of rubble not too far from you that you managed to avoid (luckily), and an old man who was standing next it, looking straight at your unmoving body while silently wondering to himself about what he had just witnessed.

”Today's weather forecast didn't mention anything about falling green aliens and falling lil' ladies...” the old man wondered quietly and scratched his head in confusion. But then he shrugged as if he had seen it all by now, and after placing his uniform cap back onto his head, he stepped closer to your body in order to check that how you were doing.

”Oh dear...” the man murmured, feeling relieved to see that you were at least breathing, but he also felt slightly troubled about the whole situation. He pondered over the idea of calling an ambulance into the scene, but then he thought that if he actually did inform the paramedics about the strange happening, they would surely call the police forces as backup, and then the army would probably be pulled to the scene too. The old man cringed at the thought of the army being involved to this whole situation, and he kind of _didn't_ want the two of you to end up to the Area 51.

”I hope you fellas are friendly...” the man said quietly and eyed your appearance once again. He hadn't noticed it first, but now his eyes were trained onto your left, shoeless, foot.

”Is that a... prosthetic leg? It certainly looks like one... Maybe even aliens need those kinds of things too, sometimes...” the man wondered quietly again. He then thought about moving your body so that you could lay on your back, but soon thought against it, worried that it would severely harm your spine and worsen up the injuries you might already have. So, the man let you lay on your right side as he turned his back towards you and started to make his way past the pile of rubble.

”Okay, gotta go find some clothes to the big green guy and a shoe for the alien lady...” the man said to himself and exited from the warehouse in order to see if he would have some spare clothes in his old pickup truck. His son had borrowed the truck last week and had probably left few particles behind.

 

Approximately ten minutes later when the old man had left, you groaned in discomfort as your lost consciousness had started to drift back to you.  
 _”Oh God, did I somehow got drunk last night...? It feels like, being trapped in a washing machine and released after a full program... Jesus... And why my bed feels this hard all the sudden... Almost like freaking concrete...”_ you thought in a haze before trying to shift your body a little, feeling utterly disoriented about your current situation.

 _”Wait a minute... **Why** exactly my bed feels like concrete?”_ you wondered as your eyes managed to flutter open for a fragment, but a heartbeat later your eyelids flew open as a sudden, horrible thought had formed inside your mind. You rapidly scrambled to sit on the hard ground, your mind was fully awake and alert and your breathing was coming out in harsh pants whilst your heart felt like it tried to break out from your chest. It was obvious that a panic attack was trying to take over your body, and it could have continued to worsen if (luckily, or unluckily, depends on a view) you hadn't sprung up into a sitting position so fast, because now the rapid action send a jolt of pain through your entire body. You hadn't realized, hadn't _remembered_ , that your right side had taken several hits throughout the day, and now, of all times, the pain decided to make itself known.

”Aah~!? Holymotherof _God_!? Owwhiieee~!!” you let out a scream while taking a firm grip of your right side with your left hand before gasping for air, the corners of your eyes starting to prickle with tears of pain. You started to smash your right fist repeatedly onto the ground in an attempt to alleviate the pain, and that was why you didn't notice at first that there was an old man who stared at you a few feet to your left side.

”Excuse me, lil' lady...” the man said tentatively after he had cleared his throat, and you whipped your head to look at him so fast that you almost fell back onto your right side by the sheer shock of realizing that you weren't alone at all.

”Hiee!?” you let out a surprised shout and luckily managed to stop your fall with your right hand in time. Now you felt even more shocked and scared than before, and your side throbbed with pain every time you tried to take a deeper breath.

”Oh! Sorry lil' miss! Didn't mean to scare you!” the old man tried to apologize, and by doing so, he took a couple of subconscious steps towards you. You stared at him with wide open eyes and he stopped what he was doing when he realized that you were more than just a little scared.

”Okay, easy there, easy. You are safe here and no one's going to hurt you, ma'am.” the man said calmly while lifting his bare hands towards you in order to show you that he was unarmed and harmless. You swallowed hard before tearing your still-wide eyes away from the man in order to take a quick and cautious glance around yourself. You arched your left eyebrow slightly, feeling confused before you looked up at the ceiling. You felt how the other brow hiked up too at the sight of the roof.

”That hole was there before you fell through it, ma'am.” the man said as he glanced up at the ceiling too.

”Right...” you muttered quietly, not quite understanding what he meant before you turned your head to look at the man again. He was wearing a kind of suit that implicated that he was a some sort of a security guard and that he was hired to guard the warehouse you were at currently.

”So, are you an alien, lil' lady?” the man asked suddenly and you blinked surprised.

”Uh, um, no, I am not.” you answered after you had found your voice and the man shrugged, saying:  
”Oh well, it was a worth a shot. Do you have a name, ma'am?”

His question make you frown a little. You still felt a little disoriented, so it took a couple of seconds from you to remember your name:  
”Uh, yeah, I – I think it's Sully, not entirely sure though...”

”Right, well, it's nice to meet you, Sully. I might have an idea as to why you might feel a bit disoriented; you've got an impressive bump on your forehead.” the man said and pointed at the right side of your head. You extracted your better hand from your injured right side and touched at your forehead. You grimaced a little when your fingers contacted with the bump, and when you lowered your gloved hand, you noticed how the fingertips glistened with fresh blood. You cringed at the image and couldn't help the shiver from raking through your body. You started to pull off the glove just when the guard decided to ask:  
”Is there anything I could do for you, Sully? Should I call the ambulance to check you up?”

You swallowed and shook your head a little, answering:  
”I – uh, I think I'll be okay, no need for medics, thanks though.”

But before the man could say anything regarding your obvious injuries, your eyes landed onto your slightly shaking left hand briefly before you quickly ran it through your wind-tousled hair.  
”But uh, y'know, is there any kind of coffee shops nearby? I would really like to have some coffee right now, the stronger the better. Doesn't even matter if it's Starbucks for as long as its black and steaming.” you then spoke and the guard let out a quiet hum.

”Well, the closest diner that sells coffee is about five miles down the road from here, thus I always have my thermos with me whenever I have to check up this warehouse. Would you like to have some, it's kind of tough stuff, made in the old fashioned way, it can almost corrode a metal spoon if you aren't careful enough.” the old man said with a smile, and you blinked before a smile made its way onto your face too.

” _Seriously_? Of course I'd like to have some! That sounds, like, the best kind of coffee to me! But, uh, I don't know who to thank for?” you babbled and frowned when you realized that you actually didn't know his name, though he knew yours, sort of.

”Franklin Lewis, ma'am.” the guard said with a curt nod and a smile, and you nodded a little too. The man then turned around and walked past the rubble in order to fetch the thermos for you, and your gaze followed his retreating form before he disappeared from your sight.

 

A few heartbeats later when Bruce had awakened from his slumber, and when his mind had started to piece together the information flood that was currently attacking him, he first started to wonder as to why he felt so cold all the sudden. Then, when his mind had processed things a little bit further, he started to wonder as to why he had something like dirt in his eyes. Keeping his eyes shut, he tried to shake the said dirt off from himself before he lifted himself into a sitting position.

Finally, he opened his eyes and instantly noticed that he was currently sitting on a pile of rubble. Then, he noticed he was completely naked and covered with fine dust. Nothing new under the sun here, he thought dryly before glancing up and noticing a gaping hole on the high ceiling.

”You fell out of the sky.”

Bruce turned his head towards the voice and saw a some sort of a security guard looking down at him from a some sort of a platform. He blinked a couple of times and tried to recall what had happened. He managed to remembered only a fragment of the events leading to this particular moment, and he sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

”Did I hurt anybody?” Bruce asked quietly, his throat felt dry and he felt the familiar feeling of self-consciousness hit him like a crushing wave.

”There's nobody around here to get hurt. You did scare the hell out of some pigeons though.” the old guard said and Bruce sighed.

”Lucky.” he said and ran a hand through his tousled hair. The guard just shrugged.

”Or just good aim. You were awake when you fell.” the man said and Bruce facepalmed himself.

”You saw?” he asked embarrassed and the guard nodded.

”The whole thing, right through ceiling. Big and green and buck ass nude. Here –” the guard said, waiving his hands in an attempt to emphasize his story before he tossed a pair of pants to Bruce who appreciated this stranger's kindness dearly.

”I didn't think those fit you until you shrunk down to a regular size fella.” the guard continued and Bruce managed a thankful nod before he started to pull his new pants up.

”Thank you.” Bruce said and fidgeted the zipper and the button closed.

”Are you an alien, son, and if so, are you and the girl together?” the guard asked curiously after a beat, and Bruce turned to look at him confused.

”Girl...?” Bruce wondered and then the realization hit him like one of Thor's lightning bolts, and he suddenly remembered _everything_. He was sure his heart skipped a beat or two. He had jumped out of the Helicarrier with his (best)friend's sister in tow, and the image of her falling down send a surge of panic down in his gut.

”Sully?” Bruce said, panicking, his eyes widened with fear as he tried to look around himself in an desperate attempt of trying to locate her obviously crushed body.

 _”Oh God, no – no – no –”_ Bruce panic was almost boiling in his mind, but then the guard pointed at the sitting figure a few feet away from them.

”She fell out of the sky too, and I thought she was going to splat flat onto the ground, but then she somehow managed to land on her right side. Then I thought that she had injured herself severely, but after a short while, she suddenly sprung up to a sitting position, and after _that_ ordeal, she asked if there was a place where she could get herself some coffee, saying she didn't necessarily need anything else. I said I had some with me, and, well, she's been cradling the mug ever since I brought her my thermos.” the guard spoke and Bruce turned to stare at him surprised before he started to make his way down from the pile of rubble.

As you were drinking coffee from the metal mug that Mr. Lewis had so graciously given to you, you rewind the events of the day inside your mind in high concentration, thus everything happening behind your back went completely unnoticed by you. The guard left Bruce to stand alone next to the rubble pile in order to fetch a shirt and shoes for him to wear, quickly vanishing behind the platform structure. Bruce's eyes were transfixed onto you, and he wondered inside his mind as to how on earth did you survive from the fall in a first place?


	14. Revelations

While you had been waiting for the old guard to return with the ( _preciousss_ ) coffee, you had kept yourself somewhat busy by stacking two flat, fairly large pieces of rocks on the ground next to the small mountain of rubble. Now, you were sitting on top of the (surprisingly stable) structure, and the steaming mug of black nectar (filled almost to the brim) was cradled securely in between your hands. You weren't paying attention to your surroundings as much as you probably should have, hence you were completely unaware of the way how the doctor had moved closer to you.

”Uh, Sully?” Bruce asked surprised after he had stopped to stand at your left hand side, being not too far nor too close to you now. He was _very_ shirtless, you noticed the fact instantly when you had lifted your gaze from the mug to look at the source of the voice, still feeling slightly confused, and the sight of him caused you to almost choke onto your coffee.

”Jesus _Henry_ Christ!?” you coughed and wheezed and Bruce looked at you concerned.

”Um, are you alright?” he asked timidly while you pinched and rubbed the bridge of your nose with your left hand whilst trying to hold the mug firmly in your slightly shaking right hand.

”Y-yeah – yep! I-I'm okay!” you answered, feeling how your cheeks were starting to warm suspiciously.

 _”Like a real life Austin Powers! Mother of God!”_ you thought as you tried to calm yourself down.

”Are you sure? We fell down from the helicarrier. Which, uh, I am really very sorry about –” Bruce started, knowing that it was completely his fault that you had fallen too, but you shook your head slightly, managing to cut his line of speech:  
”It wasn't your fault, Bruce. It was that crazy-ass Loki's fault, and you bet that I'm going to wipe the floor with his face as soon as I manage to locate him.”

You said before taking a sip from the mug, eyes locked firmly to stare at the wall several feet ahead of you. Bruce stared at you surprised, not quite believing his own hearing.

”I, uh... Y-you're not going to... lock me up into a cage?” he asked quietly, his hands fidgeting with nervous energy as he waited and feared for your obvious answer. Because what else he deserved than to be locked up into a Hulk-proof cage? Right?

”What...?” you whispered to yourself, your brows furrowing in confusion at his defeated-sounding question, and you twisted your upper body slightly in order to look at him properly. The doctor wasn't even looking at you as his eyes were downcast to look at the dusty ground instead, and you felt how a certain nervousness started to wrap itself around your heart.

”Bruce...” you said quietly and he lifted his head in order to look at you, staying silent, though, and you had to take a fortifying sip from the mug before you continued:  
”No, I wouldn't do something like that to you in a million years. And I don't even _want_ to think about doing something like that, the whole thought is hella disturbing, Jesus...”

You paused when cold chills ran up to your spine, and you took a larger gulp of coffee before you continued, your gaze now turned and locked to the wall ahead of you:  
”And please, Bruce, don't _ever_ think that you deserve to be locked up into a cage; you are a human being for heaven's sake.”

You absentmindedly finished the remaining coffee before wrapping your fingers around the mug, and you said with quieter voice before your mind could have delved deeper into your painful past:  
”Not a single innocent person should ever be locked into a cage.”

Bruce eyed at your figure silently while a faint feeling at the back of his mind tried to tell him something, something _important_ , but he couldn't get a proper hold of it even when he tried his hardest to do so.

You lowered the empty mug onto the ground with a sigh before you tentatively touched your right side with your left hand fingers. Every time you tried to take a deeper breath, the action send pain course through your upper body.

”Shoot, I sure hope this is just a bruise...” you muttered quietly, but Bruce heard you anyways and his eyes swept over your appearance, taking in your injuries; there was a bump with a scratch on your forehead and it was apparent that your right side was causing you to feel pain. A vivid image regarding the events that happened mere hours ago flashed through Bruce's mind, and a wave of coldness coursed through him upon the realization. It was because of him that you had gotten hurt, and now he felt even more miserable than before.

”I am sorry.” Bruce said quietly while turning his gaze to look at the ground again, the fingers of his right hand rubbing over the knuckles of his left hand in repeated action. You let out a silent sigh and glanced up at him briefly.

”You know, no-one forced me to stay with your alter ego after everything started to head towards hell; it was completely my decision to do as I did back there. I practically shoved the intimidating redhead out of the way and up the stairs before I went and tried to distract the other guy long enough that she could have reached steadier grounds.” you spoke as you rested your hands against your lap before resuming to stare at the far wall again. Bruce lifted his gaze from the ground in order to look at you again.

” _Why_ did you do it, I almost killed you! I was chasing you and you got hurt badly because of me!” Bruce said panicking, he couldn't understand your actions at all. You nibbled your lower lip before heaving a sigh:  
”Even if I might be a civilian like Rogers said earlier, it doesn't mean that I wouldn't be capable of making split-second decisions that might save someone else's life, someone, who's not as durable as I am.”

You stood up from your so-called stool after you finished, and looked at the doctor straight in the eye, but before he had the change to reply, the guard ( _finally_ ) returned to you two.

”These are for you, son.” the man said to Bruce before he handed a weary button-down shirt and a pair of shoes to the brunette. Bruce thanked the guard before bending down in order to tie the shoes onto his feet. The guard turned to talk to you then:  
”Sorry, ma'am, I couldn't find a shoe that could have fit to your foot.”

You felt slightly confused, but then you happened to glance down to your feet and realized what he was trying to imply.

”Oh, right... um, it's okay, I don't really _need_ one anyways. I do appreciate the thought, though.” you said and scratched the back of your neck awkwardly with your better hand. The guard nodded and went to retrieve his coffee mug from where you had left it. Bruce lifted his eyes from his shoes to glance up at you. He wasn't aware of the subject that you and the guard were discussing about, not until he happened to look down on your feet. His eyes grew wider at the sight of your left, shoeless foot, and it took only a fraction of a second for him to realize your left foot was artificial and was, possibly, made of metal.

”Your foot...” Bruce breathed out before he managed to gain back the control of his brain to mouth connection, and you let out a heavy sigh before carding your left hand fingers through your hair in a slightly nervous manner.

”Yeah, um, about that... I, uh, I'm sorry I haven't said anything regarding them before, I don't feel very comfortable if people know I have artificial limbs, and there's only like, three people besides me who know I have them in a first place...” you said quietly, unable to look at the doctor now that he knew about one part of your carefully hidden secret, but Bruce just furrowed his eyebrows in deep though.

”Limbs? As in plural?” he asked confusedly after he had finished the shoe tying task, and he looked at you puzzled now that he had raised himself from his hunched down position. You dared to glance at his direction before you heaved a sigh and wiggled the fingers of your right hand so that he could see them.

”Unfortunately, yes; in plural.” you confirmed quietly. Bruce looked at you, feeling stunned, and said:  
”I really didn't notice anything before.”

You nodded silently and scratched the back of your neck absentmindedly.  
”Yeah, I try to keep them hidden if I have to socialize with someone I don't know well. There's currently only two places where I can breathe more freely, and where I don't have to hide them that much, and they are Tony's Malibu mansion and the Tower at Manhattan.” you said with quieter voice and Bruce felt a sad sting in his heart.

”So uh, Tony knows about your...” Bruce started while he pulled the shirt over him, but quickly trailed off when he suddenly realized that he actually didn't want to upset you by blurting out something inappropriate regarding your artificial limbs. He would have wanted to know more about you and the way you got your prostheses, but he knew that this was not the time nor the place to present questions.

Although the doctor didn't finish his sentence, you still got what he meant and nodded to that while nibbling at your lower lip again.  
”Yeah, he knows, his CEO girlfriend Pepper Potts knows too. Director Fury also knows, but none of his agents know about my uh, aesthetic issues.” you said and eyed at your right hand briefly before you continued:  
”Tony has been crafting me new prostheses every now and then, these are my fifth pair so far since he went and upgraded them last week, and was that painful or not? Anyways, that crazy mechanic actually _named_ his creations, so, uh, this one is called Herb, and this one is Spices.”

You first pointed at your right hand and then you pointed at your left leg, making Bruce understand about the ´sibling-talk´ better, and despite the current situation, he couldn't stop the smile from forming onto his face.  
”Herb and Spices? And Tony wanted you to _hit_ Captain America with Herb?... actually, I kinda want to see that happening too.” Bruce wondered with badly veiled laughter ringing through his voice, and you let out a small laugh of your own, feeling relieved that he wasn't going to tease you about your slightly different appearance.

 

”You two together?”

You and Bruce both turned to look at the guard who was standing behind you two, he was holding the mug between his hands and was currently eyeing at you two curiously.

”Uh, no.” Bruce answered as a faint blush was making its way onto his cheeks, and you shook your head slightly.

”Oh, well, just sayin', you two sounded like being together.” the man said and shrugged. You were one hundred percent sure that your face was burning bright red, and you averted your gaze to look at the suddenly very interesting-looking platform looming not far from you while you scratched the back of your neck, feeling awkward as usual.

”But do you two have somewhere to go to?” the guard then asked, looking between you and Bruce, and Bruce subconsciously touched his right side where Tony had prodded him with the miniature electrical prodding device. You, on the other hand, didn't know where Loki was going to attack, thus you turned to look at the doctor questioningly.

”Actually, yes; we need to go to Manhattan.” Bruce answered and you felt surprised and confused. The guard nodded and gestured you two to follow him.

”It's not much but it works, though the ignition is a bit cranky sometimes.” the guard said when he had walked your group next to a one rusty Harley. You stared at it in disbelief, like, how on earth does it even _stay_ in one piece? Bruce wondered the same thing in his mind as he ran a hand through his hair.

”Okay...” Bruce said slowly and you sighed silently.

”You said the ignition is a bit cranky?” you asked from the guard and he nodded. You pulled your lower lip between your front teeth and chewed it for a second before you shrugged and zipped your jacket open.

”Well, okay, yeah, let's take a look of it then.” you said and struggled a little with the sleeves when you tried not to add any unnecessary strain onto your right side.

”You're going to repair it? Just like that?” Bruce wondered, and you did a little victory dance inside your mind when you had finally shed off the jacket.

”Well, yes? I did build an entire Iron Man suit in twenty-four hours once, so I'm pretty confident that I am capable of improving something as simple as the ignition of a Harley-Davidson.” you said and both Bruce and the guard stared at you surprised.

”Tony said that you can build a car out of scraps.” Bruce said and you smiled a little before you handed your jacket to Bruce to hold.

”Yea, I think I had drank one too many espressos at that particular day whilst Tony had been doing some drunken science throughout the day, and he actually build a nearly working Optimus Prime inside the lab space... y'know, it's from the Transformers?” you talked as you started to roll up the sleeves of your long-sleeved cotton shirt.

”Anyways... Mr. Lewis, I'll make sure that you get a new Harley delivered to you as soon as possible, I promise you that.” you said after you had finished rolling up the sleeves and were now flexing the fingers of both of your hands. Bruce and the other man stared at your shiny metallic arm, curiosity and wonder shining in their eyes, but there was a certain degree of disbelief mixed with a growing feeling of sadness building in Bruce's mind. He had had no idea that your _whole arm_ was artificial one and he felt shocked about the new discovery.

”The whole arm...?” the doctor asked quietly and you made a quiet, noncommittal sound as you turned your attention towards the old bike. You nibbled on your lower lip while eyeing the frame of the rusty apparatus before you let out a thoughtful hum. You carefully lowered yourself to kneel on the ground next to the motor of the bike in order to take a closer look of the wiring going underneath it. Your injured right side protested your every move, but you tried to ignore the pain as well as you could in the current situation.

”Yep, I can see what causes the ignition problems here, so this shouldn't take all that long to fix.” you said, tilting your head in order to peek over your shoulder before you turned your attention back towards the bike.

 

While you were absorbed into your work, the two men were watching you intently from a short distance away, both of them feeling amazed and fascinated about your abilities.

”You know son, if a gal as fine as her can fix a Harley, I'd advice that one should ask her out. 'Cos gals like her doesn't grow on trees.” the guard said to Bruce, careful to keep his voice quiet while elbowing the brunette onto his side, making Bruce's cheeks turn slightly redder.

”She is my friends sister, I can't – I don't want to ruin our friendship.” Bruce said quietly to the older man.

”You never know how they will react if you don't give it a shot. I met a gal back in the old days but I felt too nervous to ask her out. The whole situation turned upside down when she asked me out instead. Been married to Beth for fifty years now.” the old man said smiling while undoubtedly memorizing every second of the first encounter with his gal.

 

After few more minutes had passed, you deemed your work done and ever so carefully raised yourself from your knelt down position. You looked at your hands before giving a half shrug and wiping them against your cargos as you turned to face the two men, asking:  
”Right, okay, it should work better now. Soo, where are we heading when we reach Manhattan, Bruce?”

Bruce looked at you, briefly thinking about what the guard had said before he offered your jacket back to you, saying:  
”Towards the Stark Tower.”

You took the jacket from his extended hand, feeling a little shocked and hell of a lot more confused.  
”Loki's going to attack our Tower?” you voiced your thoughts and Bruce nodded, saying:  
”He needs a high density energy source in order to kick-start the cube.”

You held your jacket in your left hand whilst balling your other hand into a fist. Bruce took a hold of the handlebars before he started to steer the bike towards the large doorway. You followed him silently as he continued to explain the theory behind Loki's supposed plan:  
”And he is most likely to use the arc-reactor that runs the Tower.”

”What _is_ that guy even – what is his problem? Well, other than being a crazy ass?” you asked, exasperated, before stopping to pull the jacket on.

”What I know is that he is a some sort of a demigod as well as being Thor's adopted brother. And, according to Thor, he is also a trickster who can also wield magic and cause chaos around himself.” Bruce listed, and in your eyes, Loki seemed even crazier than he already was.

”Thor explained that Loki is not an Asgardian like the rest of his people are, but that he comes from a world called Jotunheim; he belongs to a race called Jotuns, or in English, frost giants.” Bruce continued and placed the bike to lean against the large door frame before turning to look back at you. You had a disbelieving look plastered over your face topped with a raised eyebrow.

”A magic-wielding frost giant?” you repeated and continued after a slight head shake:  
”Capable of causing chaos...”

Your brows furrowed as a sudden thought popped into your head, and when it started to grow bigger, more clearer, the paler and colder you turned. Bruce looked at you concerned when you turned silent so suddenly.

”Sully?” he asked tentatively while you took a few calming breaths before running your better hand through your hair.

”Loki is going to pay hard for what he has done to me and my family.” you said quietly, your gaze locked to stare at the distance.

”Um, what do you mean?” Bruce asked worriedly. You took a deep breath, ignoring the pain that the action caused, and clenched both of your hands into fists. Your grey irises had gotten a steely layer on them when you started to speak:

”That _asshat_ is the reason why I got injured in a car accident years ago, _he_ is the reason why I lost my Jared and I sure as hell won't rest before I have avenged his death.”


	15. Assembly begins...

There was a lonely figure standing near the edge of a large open space, where only a few hours ago a sturdy glass cage had existed whilst housing a dangerous and unpredictable prisoner known as Loki.

This said lonely figure was Tony Stark; genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist...

The _invincible_ Iron Man.

Though he didn't feel that invincible anymore (if he had ever felt so, media liked to give him all sorts of nicknames), not when he felt like the device in his chest was malfunctioning and causing him to feel more pain than he normally felt (or maybe it was just his actual heart that had been broken into pieces, he wasn't sure anymore).

Tony patted at the pocket of his trousers where a certain, although broken, device rested, he had been repeating the same action for at least an hour just to make sure that the device was still there. He had been thinking (a little bit irrationally since the device was definitely broken beyond repair), that if he had the medallion, that if he kept it safe, there might also be some hope remaining, hope that his sister could have survived from the fall after all.

Jarvis hadn't received any new messages regarding the artificial limbs, but Tony didn't want to believe it was just a malfunction of sorts.

No, he absolutely _couldn't_ make himself believe into that possibility.

”Jarvis, is there new messages from Abigail?” Tony asked quietly while eyeing at the large, vast space in front of him, not noticing how his fellow team member, Steve, had just entered into the room.

”Unfortunately no, sir. Would you like me to repeat the first message again?” Jarvis asked and Tony shook his head, sighing.

”No, thanks, J.” he mumbled quietly before Steve decided to inform the other man about his presence while hoovering near the doorway:  
”Excuse me, but who is this Abigail that you were talking about?”

Tony turned to look at the blonde, feeling slightly startled about the way how his thinking had been interrupted, before letting out a long sigh of air.

”Well, you are aware of Jarvis, right?” Tony asked and received a slow nod from the other man.

”Okay, that's good. So, you may also know that Jarvis is an artificial intelligence that I have designed, obviously, but what you may not know, is that his name is an abbreviation from ´Just A Rather Very Intelligent System´.” Tony continued, deliberately letting out the fact that he had also had a butler/nanny/best friend called as Edwin Jarvis when he was a way younger, and that he may have sorta named his A.I. after him (for reasons).

”Are you implying that Abigail is, well, similar to Jarvis?” Steve asked, stepping closer towards the edge of the large opening, his brows furrowed slightly in concentration.

”That's _exactly_ what I am trying to say here!” Tony clapped his hands together excitedly, some of his previous enthusiasm starting to return back to him, before he continued:  
”For what Jarvis has encrypted from the very, and I mean, _very_ short and vague message that had been send into his ´mailbox´ approximately one and a half hours ago, we have come to a conclusion that Abigail stands for a ´Automated Biomechanical Intelligence, Genetically Activated Internal Lifesaver´.”

Steve blinked confusedly, thinking that this particular topic had gone a whole mile over his head.

”So, uh, she _isn't_ connected to Helicarrier's system the way Jarvis is?” the soldier then asked, sounding a bit unsure, and Tony shook his head again.

”No, she isn't. But what is interesting though, is that this still partly unknown entity managed to message Jarvis after, uh... after Sully went down.” Tony said, the excitement dripping off from his voice and demeanor as he neared the end of his sentence, feeling how the malfunctioning arc-reactor kicked in a new gear, making a stronger kind of ache to build up inside his chest. The genius turned to look at the same spot he had been staring for at least a half an hour, ever since he had dashed out of the mainbridge and had stumbled his way into the detention section of the 'carrier.

Steve nodded silently at his comrades words, knowing that he was in great deal of pain right now, even if the other man didn't admit it directly. Steve himself felt bad about what he had said earlier, before everything went straight to hell. It had been very rude, and not something Steve would have ever dared to say to any woman, or any other person for that matter, if he could have thought straight at the time.

”I am really sorry, Tony, about everything.” Steve said quietly, and Tony nodded at his words.

”I-I know, she just... she didn't deserve any of this mess and she certainly didn't deserve that kinda... ending.” Tony said, gesturing vaguely at the space around him and the blonde while feeling how his throat started to tighten with emotions, and he was sure there had to be some kind of a horrible creature that tried to gnaw a new artery into his heart, if the pain he felt there was any kind of a indicator.

”She deserved to be happy with someone and she deserved to _be loved_ by this someone, but instead she just...” Tony continued after taking a deep breath, his voice just above a whisper before fading completely, but Steve had heard him anyways. He lowered his gaze from the brunette and turned to look at the place where agent Coulson took his last breaths against a wall, before asking quietly:  
”Was he married?”

Tony turned to look at the red splotch on the wall before quickly averting his eyes from it, swallowing hard.  
”No, uh, I think there was a cellist...” he answered and turned to stare at the place again where Loki's cell had been. Well, technically it was a cell build for Banner, like he was some sort of a dangerous animal, the thought enraged him and made him feel sick.

”I'm sorry. He seemed like a good man.” Steve said but Tony huffed bitterly.

”He was an idiot.” he said and Steve was taken aback by Tony's choice of words.

”Why? For believing?” Steve questioned, his voice getting maybe a bit too hard ring into itself.

”For taking on Loki alone!” Tony said, exasperated, only now realizing that he had turned to face the other man fully.

”He was doing his job.” Steve tried to calm his fellow down, as well as himself, but his attempt only sparked Tony's anger and bitterness.

”Loki was out of his league! He should have waited – he should have...” Tony yelled, trailing off when he felt how his throat tightened again. He wasn't going to cry in front of anyone, especially in front of _Captain America_.

”...Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony.” Steve said quietly whilst Tony had started to walk away from the situation. The genius huffed angrily and asked, not bothering to turn to look back:  
”Right. And how did that work on him, huh?”

”Is this a first time you have lost a soldier?” Steve asked before he could control himself and Tony turned around to face him, roaring angrily:  
”WE ARE _NOT_ SOLDIERS! I am _not_ marching to Fury's fife!”

”Neither am I! He's got the same blood on his hands as Loki does! Right now we've got to put that aside and get this done. Now Loki needs a power source, and if we can put together a list –” Steve shouted back. Tony huffed, annoyed, before turning to look at the bloodied wall, not wanting to face the shouting Captain, and that was when he realized something.

”He made it personal.” Tony breathed out but Steve shook his comment off:  
”That's not the point –”

”That is the point! That's Loki's point! He hit us all right where we live. Why?” Tony spoke and waited Steve to come up with an answer.

”To tear us apart.” the other man said slowly, realization dawning for him too.

”He _had to_ conquer his greed, but he _knows_ he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants. He _wants_ to beat us, and he wants _to be seen_ doing so; he wants an audience.” Tony spoke and Steve nodded, saying:  
”Right, I caught his act at Stuttgart.”

Tony started to pace around, thinking about Loki's motives and talking aloud at the same time:  
”Yeah! That's just a preview, and this is the opening night! Loki's a full-tilt diva! He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built in the skies with his name plastered –!?”

Tony stilled on his tracks before taking a deep breath as Steve raised an eyebrow confused.  
”Son-of-a-bitch!!” Tony grumbled and stormed out of the room, leaving stunned Steve behind. It took Steve few seconds to understand the same thing as Tony had understood a moment ago. And when Steve realized Loki's destination, he, too, hurried out of the room in order to suit up. He needed to order others to suit up too, because they all _were_ going to go and avenge the innocent lives that had been taken away due to Loki's maniacal rampage.

 

Tony had sprinted to your room and grabbed the bag of tools you had brought with you, and just as he was about to exit from your room, something managed to catch his attention. He frowned and walked over to your nightstand. He sighed silently and reached his free hand in order to grasp your forgotten phone into his hold. Tony hadn't noticed your phone before when he had visited your room earlier, but now he sat down onto your bed and lowered the bag onto the floor. Then he unlocked the phone and smiled when he saw what was your wallpaper picture.

The picture that you had as a wallpaper, consisted a smiling you, a hysterically laughing Tony and a screaming Pepper. You had snapped a group selfie when you and Tony had spend too much time in the lab and you had build a car and Tony had gotten himself drunk and build a nearly working Autobot in the middle of the lab space. Tony laughed a little as he memorized the chaos you two had managed to cause and he felt how the pain in his heart ceased a little. He continued to scroll through your phone, but after a while, he sighed and locked the phone and shoved it into the same pocket where he kept the medallion. Then he stood up, glanced around the room, and took the bag with him as he exited to the hallway, descending his steps towards one of the Helicarrier's workshops. He had some repairing to do and he wanted to use your tools on that purpose, as a tribute to your memory, your workmanship and uniqueness.

 

* * * _at a desolated meadow after Loki's attack_ * * *

Thor hefted himself up from the small crater he had managed to cause while landing, feeling bewildered and utterly lost.

The God of Thunder had just witnessed how Loki, his own brother, had stabbed the Son of Coul on his back, and after that brutal, unnecessary act, had dropped his own brother out of the big flying vessel.

It was probably a fool's luck when he had managed to escape from the glass cage just in time before the cell had smashed against the ground.

And now, Thor was trying to calm himself down, brushing grass and dirt out of his armor, while, at the same time, he was trying to understand where, exactly, he had managed to land. After glancing around, he noticed his mighty hammer laying only a few feet away from him. And as he started to walk towards it, he started to rewind all the events that had ultimately resulted into this current moment inside his mind.

He had witnessed how the big green beast had taken the young maiden with him as he had leaped out of the flying vessel, towards another, tinier, flying vessel.

He had heard how the fair maiden had screamed (from fear, he supposed), and after that, he had heard how the tiny flying vessel had exploded loudly.

Thor knew for sure, that the splendid young maiden who had helped him earlier today, had died instantly when the vessel had exploded and he felt sad knowing that the (sometimes cruel) deities of Fate had undoubtedly carried her spirit into the great and divine halls of Valhalla.

Thor had wished to strike a longer conversation with her, since she knew how to use the ´Automatic Coffee Machine´, and he had hoped that she would have agreed to help him use Midgardian technology a bit better (in hopes to impress his Lady Jane).

Thor sighed and reached to lift his hammer off from the ground, but before he did so, he clenched his hand into a fist.

 _”You have made yourself powerful enemies today, brother, and I warn you that I **will** seek revenge in behalf of both Son of Coul and Lady Sully.”_ Thor thought and grabbed the hammer from the ground before lifting it over his head. The clouds above him turned darker when suddenly a thunder ripped through the sky and a massive thunderbolt collided with the hammer. Thor's casual armor transformed into his mighty warrior gear, and soon he was flying through the now clear sky, a destination in his mind and an oath to accomplish.


	16. What do I stand for

You stared angrily at the treeline across the spacey yard while standing at the dusty entrance of the large warehouse, trying your hardest to hold in the scream that threatened to break out. You gritted your teeth together and clenched your right hand into a tighter ball of fist subconsciously.

”I had no idea... I am so sorry for your loss, Sully.” Bruce said quietly while looking at your figure and feeling shocked and sad about what you had just told to him. You let out a long sigh and shut your eyes for a second, feeling how the corners of your eyes started to prickle.

”We should be heading towards the city, Bruce. There are innocent people there who need to be saved from Loki's rampage.” you said quietly before you partly forced yourself to walk further away from him whilst wiping your eyes dryer with your better hand. Bruce looked at your retreating form and sighed before turning to thank the old guard for everything he had done for your behalf. The guard just smiled and brushed it off and wished the two of you all the best, and Bruce managed a small smile before he turned to follow you to the front yard, steering the bike by its handlebars.

You stopped to take a deep breath before running both of your hands through your hair and letting the air out as a heavy sigh.

 _”Are you willing to help the Avengers team as well as you can?”_ Fury's authoritative voice rang inside your head and you lightly touched your scar with the fingers of your left hand while keeping both of your hands against your head.

 _”Kira, sweetheart... I know that there will be days when you want to curl up into a corner and hide yourself from the rest of the world, and there will be days when, as scary as it sounds, you can feel nothing but fear and pain. But if you let that fear win, if you give it even the smallest of chances to latch onto you, it will paralyze you far greater than the accident did. So, what I am asking from you, dear, is that don't hide who you are, and what you have become, because you have been gifted with a second chance and this gift is too valuable for fear to spend instead of you. You are stronger than steel, Sully, you have always been and you will always be.”_  
Your eyes widened when you heard your dad's voice drift into your mind, and you sucked in a sharp breath before you let your hands fall onto your sides. You were staring into the distance, unseeing and not realizing how Bruce had come to stand by your side.

”Sully?” Bruce's concerned voice pulled your mind back to the present time and you turned to look at him.

”Are you alright?” he asked, looking as concerned as he sounded. You gave him a tiny smile whilst a layer of sadness still lingered in your eyes.

”Yeah, I think I am.”

But despite your answer, Bruce still looked a little unconvinced and it seemed like he was about to ask something from you, but you interrupted his line of thought when your smile widened a fraction before you asked:  
”So, are you ready to test the cranky ignition?”

At this, Bruce found himself smiling a little too, and he hopped onto the saddle whilst you stayed next to the apparatus in case you needed to operate with the old wiring again.

”Okay, I kind of hope that this thing doesn't explode now...” Bruce said and turned the key in order to start the motor, and when it rumbled into action at first try, the loud noise sounded like music to the both of you. Bruce let out a relieved laugh while you whooped excitedly with your arms raised up over your head, only to discover that the pain hadn't gone anywhere from your right side. You bit your lip in pain and lowered your arms slowly back onto your sides. You took a slow breath in before climbing onto the narrow space behind Bruce, the old suspension letting out a painful-sounding creak under the weight of the both of you. You wrapped your better arm around the doctor as securely as you could while gripping at your aching right side with your metal hand.

”Let's go kick some demigod's ass!” you said over the loud rumbling of the motor and a moment later the two of you were speeding (well, more like creeping ridiculously slowly) down the dusty yard and towards Manhattan, the Stark Tower and the one lunatic who needed to be stopped before it was too late.

 

* * * _at the airspace miles away from Manhattan_ * * *

Tony was flying fast towards the city of New York, a borrowed ( _stolen_ ) Quinjet following his lead whilst carrying the remaining members of their newbie team since he was the only one of them who had a suit that could fly ( _hah!_ ).

”Jarvis, talk to me, is there any news from Kira?” Tony asked for what must have been the hundredth time within an hour or so.

”I am sorry sir, but there are no new messages from A.B.I.G.A.I.L.. Shall I try and make a contact to her by myself, sir?” Jarvis said and Tony sighed.

”You can try that, J.” he said and pushed his battered suit to its limits by accelerating towards the city line with greater speed.

”Very well, sir.” Jarvis said before falling silent as he started to string together a special code that should help him make contact with the other A.I..

 

When approximately twenty minutes had passed, Tony finally saw his magnificent Tower shining in a distance, and that was when Jarvis started to talk to him:  
”Sir, I must inform you that there is something Ms. Kira left onto the bar counter at yours and Ms. Potts' floor before she followed you to the Helicarrier yesterday.”

”Uh, okay? Is it some kind of a new gizmo I haven't heard her talk about, or –” Tony asked, feeling more than just a little surprised about what Jarvis had told him.

”Ms. Kira asked me to keep them as a secret until they were one hundred percent ready, since there were two errands to fulfill until her creations would have been completely finished. And given the fact that the first errand has been accomplished three minutes and seven seconds ago, I feel more inclined to notify you about their presence, sir.”

”Jarvis, as much as I _love_ surprises, I'm currently _not_ in the mood of guessing –” Tony started, but was interrupted by his A.I.:  
”You may have been unaware of this, sir, but Ms. Kira has been aware of your oncoming birthday for quite some time now –and yes, she figured it out by herself, and yes, she _has_ , indeed, marked it down onto her personal calendar–, thus she has been highly determined to grant you with a gift, sir.”

Tony felt how the dull ache in his chest intensified, and he had to chew the inside of his left cheek in order to stave away the prickling feeling that had suddenly appeared in the corners of his eyes.  
”She made me a birthday present.” he murmured quietly, feeling overwhelmed about the whole idea.

During the past few minutes, Tony had advanced steadily more close to his Tower, so much so that now he could clearly recognize how a shady looking man was fumbling over with something on the rooftop. It looked like the man was trying to activate a some kind of a weird-ass scientific device, and when Tony reduced his flying speed in order to hoover next to the building, Jarvis spoke up again:  
”Sir, I took off the arc-reactor, but the device is, unfortunately, self-sustained already.”

Tony hummed and eyed at the other man rather coldly.  
”Shut it down, doctor Selvig!” he ordered loudly, but the man in question ignored his command and responded to him excitedly whilst sounding more or less crazy:  
”It's too late! It can't stop now! He wants to show us something; a new universe!”

Tony looked at the device again before tilting his head in order to glance up at the sky above them.  
”Okay.” our armored genius said and aimed both of his hands towards the device before firing a blast towards the cosmic cube. Unfortunately, the cube and the device stayed intact, and the energy from the repulsors shot right back at him instead, making Tony plummet through the air like a pinwheel. The crazed doctor had fallen onto his back and had apparently hit his head in the process, if the way he laid unmoving against the gravel of the roof told anything.

Tony stared at the machine in disbelief after he had managed to stabilize his flight. Jarvis was quick to offer an explanation to the situation:  
”The barrier is pure energy, it is unbreachable.”

Tony resisted rolling his eyes, because, yeah, he definitely was already aware of that fact.  
”No kidding, J? Damn it, I need a new suit! Have you finished the paint job to Mark VII yet?” Tony asked, noticing how few sparkles flew into the air as he tried to keep his flying stable.

”The Mark VII is not ready to be deployed, sir.” Jarvis answered just when Tony started to advance towards the landing pad next to the massive balcony.

”Then skip the spinning rims, we're on the clock!” Tony said quickly, a note of urgency ringing through his voice as a feeling of dread started to wrap itself around his heart when he suddenly noticed how the balcony wasn't empty at all. The raven-haired, tall man with a glowing scepter clutched in his hand managed to look both smug and crazy at the same time while he was following Tony with his gaze, the small smirk blowing up into a manic grin when the genius finally landed down.

Tony barely noticed how Jarvis responded back to him whilst his attention was directed solely onto Thor's evil (adopted) brother. Tony's blood cooled down quite a bit when he realized that he was going to confront this man, this–this _bastard_ – who was the reason he had lost one of his own family among the unflappable agent Agent who had been the only person working in the super-secret agency that had housed a nugget of humor in himself.

The suit was being dismantled from Tony's body as he walked walked along the short path that led inside the building, and the parts were quickly squirreled under the floorboards of the bridge at the same time he reached the doorway of the penthouse. The damned demigod seemed all too eager to follow Tony's lead, the smile on his face turning more and more sinister by each passing second.

Tony kept his eyes nailed onto the trickster all the way as he casually strolled behind the counter of his lavishly decorated bar.

”Please tell me you are going to appeal my humanity.” Loki said, laughter ringing through his voice like the whole situation was somehow overwhelmingly funny. Tony suppressed the shiver of disgust and instead answered (a forced smirk playing in his face):  
”Actually, I'm planning to threaten you.”

The genius knew that he had to somehow buy more time for Jarvis so that he could finish up his new suit as quickly as possible.

”You should have left your armor on for that.” Loki said amused, and Tony shrugged.

”Yeah, it's seen a bit of mileage. You've got the blue-stick-of-destiny. Would you like a drink?” Tony said nonchalantly before venturing to take a glass out from a nearby cabin, he was partly trying to distract Loki as he tried to search for his birthday present at the same time. Loki raised an eyebrow to Tony's offer.

”Stalling me will not change anything.” he said and Tony quickly corrected him:  
”No, no, no! _Threatening_. No drink, you sure? I'm definitely having one.”

The genius grabbed the nearest bottle of alcohol and poured a generous swig into his glass. Loki huffed and started to pace around while speaking to the other:  
”The chitauri are coming, nothing will change that. What have _I_ to fear?”

”The Avengers.” Tony answered instantly and lifted the glass to his lips while staring at Loki, who now looked at him slightly confused.

”It's what we call ourselves, sort of like a team. _Earths Mightiest Heroes_ -type of thing.” Tony continued and moved closer to the other end of the counter. Loki looked like he was holding back a laugh.  
”Yes, I have met them.” he responded, obviously mocking at the team. Tony forced a smile onto his face.

”Yeah, takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one. But let's do a head count here; we have your brother, the demigod; a super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with breath-taking anger management issues; a couple of master assassins, and _you_ , big fella, _you_ have managed to piss off every single one of them.” Tony spoke and sipped at his drink as he ended his listing.

”That was the plan.” Loki said and smiled like he had already won the battle.

”Not a great plan. Because, when they come, and they _will_ , they'll come for you.” Tony said, finally reaching the end of the counter where he saw his present resting; it was a set of bracelets, made of something that looked like gold to him. He quickly and secretively snatched them and snapped them around both of his wrists. He wasn't one hundred percent sure of what they would possibly do, but he did have a tiny hunch about their supposed purpose.

”I have an army.” Loki countered Tony's threatening but the genius merely shrugged:  
”We have a Hulk.”

”I thought the beast had wandered off...” Loki wondered. Tony's anger rose and he started to walk towards the trickster while speaking and pointing at him with his index finger:  
”You're missing the point. There's no throne, there is no version of this, where you come out on top. _Maybe_ your army comes and _maybe_ it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it!”

Loki gave him a lopsided smile and slowly walked to confront Tony.  
”Tell me, how will your friends have time for me, when they are so busy fighting _you_?” Loki asked, and before Tony could respond to that, he lifted his scepter and poked Tony's chest with it.

_cling!_

Loki looked confused when nothing happened, and Tony felt kind of dumbfounded himself too. So, Loki tried to stab Tony again:

_cling!_

Yet again, nothing happened and Tony snorted amused while Loki stared at his scepter like it had somehow offended him.

”It _should_ work...” Loki muttered and Tony smirked:  
”Well, it happens to all, performance issues, you know?”

Apparently, Tony's jab was too much for Loki's ego, because the demigod grabbed the genius by his throat, lifting him off the floor, and when Tony went to grab at the other man's arms, his glass slipped from his hold and shattered into million pieces when it connected with the marbled floor. Loki flung Tony across the room, making him hit the window painfully before dropping down onto the floor.

”Jarvis! I need the suit, now!” Tony gasped as he tried to struggle up and onto his feet. Loki had followed him and was quick to grab him by his throat again, and when he pulled Tony closer to himself, he whispered with venom in his voice:   
”You will _all_ fall before me.”

And the next thing Tony knew, was that he was flying through a window _without wearing his suit, dammit!_

”Oh shit!?” Tony screamed as he turned in mid-air and was now falling headfirst towards the unyielding ground. But to his surprise, the golden bracelets started to blink with red light, and that was when he heard a crashing-sound resounding from high above his rapidly falling body. The genius spread his hands out of instinct, and when he quickly looked behind his shoulder, he felt how a huge grin split over his face.

”Holy shit! Hahahahaa, I _knew_ it! _Yes!_ ” Tony laughed just as his new suit encased his falling body, and he surged to the sky just in time before he would have hit the ground.


	17. Second chances to the fallen ones

”Hey, _asshole!_ ”

Tony's voice came out harsh and cold through the faceplate of his suit as he addressed Loki. The genius was now steadily hoovering in mid-air after his unexpected freefall, and he was back facing the demigod again. Loki stared at the red and gold armor in disbelief, but he didn't get a change to say anything when Tony spoke up:  
”There are two other people you managed to piss off!”

He aimed both of his hand repulsors to point at Loki before he yelled at the god again:  
”Their names were Kira and Phil!”

Loki tried to aim the scepter towards Tony, but the genius was quicker as he blasted two shots of energy straight onto Loki's upper body, sending him pummeling backwards against the marbled floor. Tony gave him a look of utter disgust and hatred before speeding off towards the rooftop.

And speaking of the roof, the odd machine whirred into life suddenly, shooting a massive beam of energy into the brilliantly blue sky over the Tower. Tony looked at the beam in sheer wonder before his amazement was replaced by a growing sense of horror as the freaking beam ripped open a damned _hole_ into the sky. The genius made a textbook what-the-fuck!?-face inside his helmet as he silently stared at the phenomenon happening in front of his eyes. The hole in the sky was morphing into something else, and Tony quickly realized that this, ladies and gentlemen, was an actual portal into another universe. Tony had absolutely _fantastic_ view towards the portal, and he saw from his place how several, very, very ugly creatures started to pour down from the hole. These said aliens were using some sort of flying water scooters (just, _whaat?_ ) in order to descend towards the city, and Tony muttered under his breath, not quite believing his own eyes:  
”Right. Army.”

A heartbeat later, Tony sped off towards the aliens, targeting and blasting off as many creatures as he possibly could by using the missiles and repulsors of his suit on that purpose.

 

A few minutes later when he had finished the Mark VII suit, Jarvis managed to wrap up the correct string of the code he had been working on the background in order to make a contact with the other A.I.. He had managed to decipher the code that A.B.I.G.A.I.L. had used previously, and he had altered the code only slightly so that he should be able to send a message to her main system, and her answer should –theoretically– come back to Jarvis himself if his message had reached the desired target accordingly. Jarvis saved and transferred the completed string of code into Tony's personal database for further inspection, the file being named as 'Project ECHO'.

”Sir, Project ECHO has been completed, shall I try sending a message to A.B.I.G.A.I.L.?” Jarvis inquired just when Tony was aiming some of his mini Jericho-missiles towards the ridiculously ugly aliens.

”Yes, you can do that Jarvis!” Tony answered as he quickly docked downwards and away from the explosions when the missiles found their targets.

”Very well, sir.” Jarvis responded before he send the code into the ether all the while keeping up the hope that _someone_ would answer back.

 

* * * _at the same time on the road to Manhattan_ * * *

You and Bruce had been driving towards the Big Apple for almost two hours straight, and were now approximately only half an hour away from your desired destination. You had happily let Bruce drive the bike all the way from the warehouse, opting to stay as an passenger, since, frankly speaking, you were feeling dog-tired and achy all over, and you mused that you hadn't wanted anything so bad in a while than to slump down onto your comfortable bed, press your head onto one of your many pillows, cocoon yourself inside a soft cover (or two) and just _sleep_ for a whole week straight.

”Okay, we are closing the city now but I'm not sure which way is the fastest.” Bruce's voice reached you over the noise of the engine, and you tilted your head in order to look over his left shoulder and towards a road sign glowering ahead.

”Well, if we take the turn to the right from the next crossroad, we should arrive to the bridge street near the Tower in no time.” you answered after a second and Bruce nodded. You soon felt how he slowed the driving speed a fraction before he steered the bike to the right direction.

Couple of minutes ticked by before the two of you caught a sight of the tall structure shining far ahead. There was still too much distance between you and the Tower so that you couldn't recognize clearly about what was happening on the rooftop, but what you _did_ saw from your place, was how something very bright shot high up to the sky, tearing a freaking _hole_ above the Tower.

”You see that, Sully?” Bruce asked and peeked over his right shoulder quickly in order to glance at you. He sounded as stunned as you were feeling.

”Yeah...” you responded, feeling how your throat dried at the sight of the weird, ominous beam. Your eyes were wide open and you could have sworn that your heart was trying to hammer its way out of your chest by the way it was currently thrumming.

A stunned silence fell upon you and Bruce as you two continued to speed forwards, but the so called tranquility was short lived when a weird, almost _burning_ , sensation suddenly spiked from the very bottom of your spine, making its way upwards in rapid speed. You screwed your eyes tightly shut at the feeling as the sensation started to run up and down your spine, and with each flow, it turned more and more ferocious.

 _”What the hell is happening to me?! Feels like there's liquid **fire** coursing inside my spine, damn it...”_ you thought in agony. Bruce was unaware of what was happening behind him as he continued to steer the bike, and after a few deep breaths, you slowly opened your watery eyes and blinked a couple of times in order to see more clearly as you found out that your vision had turned more blurred than it was before the burning sensation had begun.

” _A.B.I.G.A.I.L., PLEASE RESPOND – A.B.I.G.A.I.L., PLEASE RESPOND –_ ”

Your eyes flew wide open before you inhaled sharply, and you straightened your posture behind Bruce a heartbeat later, the strange, loud voice repeating its mantra inside your head a couple of times before it fell silent as quickly as it had started. The burning feeling ebbed away, leaving a slightly tingling feeling in its wake, but your heart was still beating faster than it normally did, but those things you were actually _aware_ of. What you _weren't_ aware of, however, was that your steel-grey irises had obtained few slivers of electric turquoise in themselves when the burning sensation had first started, but the greyness was nonexistent for a brief moment as the other colour replaced it completely, and it took a couple of heartbeats more before the invading colour started to vanish.

 _”W-What on earth is happening? Why that voice sounded so much like Jarvis...?”_ you thought nervously and swallowed hard before you slumped back onto your previous position, and you couldn't help but wonder (and pray), that maybe what you had heard and felt was the ultimate cause of what had happened to you earlier at the day.

 _”Did I really hit my head that hard...?”_ you thought and took as deep breath as you could in order to calm yourself down as you two continued the journey towards the (presumably) awaiting chaos.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

”Sir, I have send the message but no response has come back yet.” Jarvis informed Tony when couple of minutes had passed after he had aired his brief message.

”Oh, okay. That's a shame, really.” Tony's voice sounded a little breathless to Jarvis, but he was already aware that his master was trying to avoid the enemy forces from getting a clear shot in order to send him down to the ground.

”Shall I try to air the code again?” Jarvis then asked and waited patiently while Tony blasted two aliens down from the much larger group following him around.

”Um, could we talk about it maybe a bit later, okay? I'm a _little bit_ busy right now and – Jesus!? You _asshats_ , I hate you all! Damn it! Where the hell _are_ the others?! I _could_ use some backups right about _now!_ ” Tony talked, a panicked undertone creeping into his voice as he tried to dodge the blasts that were coming from behind himself. Jarvis responded just as Tony flipped himself over in midair so that he was facing the aliens before he send a small surprise (a couple of those cute little Jericho-missiles) of his own towards them:  
”Very well, sir.”

Needless to say that the battle continued as hectic as before.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

”Gods...” you breathed out, feeling horrified as you and Bruce had stopped pretty much in the middle of one of the driveways of the city before both of you had climbed down from the bike. Your gaze flickered over the wrecked buildings and over the rubble littering the streets before it swept over the many burnt and altogether destroyed cars. Then your attention focused to the people who were running past you and Bruce in terror in hopes to reach a safer ground before it was too late. Smoke and dust whirled in the air and sounds of different kinds of sirens echoed from afar, alongside with sounds of explosions and inhumane roars.

”This is horrible...” Bruce said from your right side as he stared at the scene in front of him, his right hand was rubbing over the knuckles of his other hand in nervous manner, undoubtedly remembering the chaos that his alter ego had caused many years ago in Harlem. You stepped forward and looked up to the sky, your worried eyes trying to locate even a tiny glimpse of the familiar red-and-gold suit so that you could breathe a little easier knowing that Tony would be alright. Bruce took a look to the sky before his eyes landed onto you.

”Look, I am sure Tony is alright. I mean, he's got the suit and his quick wit with him and I know for sure that Jarvis will do whatever it takes to keep him safe.” Bruce said, trying to alleviate your worries the best he could. You swallowed hard and lowered your gaze from the sky.

”...I hope you're right.” you said quietly.

 

Your conversation was cut short when a deafening roar sounded from the sky, making a horde of panicked people run past you and Bruce, and when you darted your wide eyes to look up towards the portal, it became crystal clear as to _why_ everyone were running away as fast as they ever could.

The creature pouring downwards from the gaping hole was made of pure nightmare material, but as if it wasn't enough already, there were several alien-scooter-things following it in a some sort of a formation (guards, maybe?).

Your mind was completely elsewhere when you just stood still as you stared at the hideous looking flying space-worm, so it first didn't register to you that Bruce wasn't standing by your side anymore. Your heart started to beat faster and you heard distantly how the engine of the old bike rumbled into action, and you knew in your mind that you _should_ move into safety, but you just couldn't make yourself move, it felt like your feet were made of solid lead. While you were watching in horror how several of those flying scooters left their formation and started to descend towards the streets, few flecks of turquoise appeared suddenly into your irises, lingering there for a few heartbeats as the alien forces started to break havoc all around the city.

” _Sully!_ We need to go!”

Bruce's worried voice managed to reach you over the background noise, and when you turned to look at him before you were about to take a step towards the bike, his eyes widened with fear.

” _No! NO! TAKE COVER!_ ” Bruce yelled, panic evident in his voice, and you spun around just in time to realize how two of the flying scooters had advanced towards you, Bruce and the crowd of people behind you two that was desperately trying to find some kind of shelter from the nearby buildings.

And all the sudden, when you were sure you were doomed to die there and then when the aliens aimed their weapons towards you all, the burning sensation was back with full force. You gasped at the feeling of how the liquid fire inside your spine shot through all of your veins, simultaneously spreading inside your artificial arm and leg and making each and every nerve connection come alive in ways you didn't even know were possible before this very day.

Then, suddenly, something clicked inside your mind, and you bolted your feet onto the ground and turned your body sideways before you raised your right arm upwards and aimed the palm of your hand towards the first enemy scooter.

Everything around you slowed down, and every sound became muffled in your ears as your attention was fixated solely onto the aliens in front of you. The burning feeling was still coursing inside your veins, but now you could also _feel_ how the arc-reactor inside your arm whirred into life (something that shouldn't even _be_ possible), making the narrow seams of your titanium-enhanced arm glow with bright blue light under the fabric of your jacket before a sharp pulse from the reactor send the glow to the center of your palm.

 

” _THIS IS A.B.I.G.A.I.L.! ALL SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN ACTIVATED AND ARE UNDER YOUR COMMAND, KIRA!_ ”

You blinked and averted your wide eyes from the flying scooter to look at your right hand, a certain understanding starting to dawn to you after hearing that voice resound inside your head, it was just so familiar that you had recognized it in a heartbeat. You lifted your gaze from your hand to stare at the aliens, but this time, your previously scared expression had been replaced with a very sinister grin instead.

 _”Mom, dad; I can never thank you enough, you two were geniuses!”_ you thought, feeling a bit emotional, and then you whispered:  
”I'm not gonna waste the chance you two gave me.”

Only maybe a couple of seconds had passed since the aliens had come to harass you and everyone else around you, and now the closest of the flying aliens let out a shrill shriek before it adjusted its weird-ass weapon, pointing the other end straight towards you, making you sharpen your defensive stance.

”You picked the wrong day to attack Earth, you assholes!” you yelled back fiercely as you aimed your hand again, making the alien shriek louder than ever. You distantly heard how Bruce yelled something behind you, but you couldn't comprehend about what he meant as you were too busy to fire your counterattack at the same time when the ugly alien fired its gun. The beam of energy blasting out from your hand shattered the beam coming from the alien-gun, sending only a few harmless sparks flying towards the ground whilst your (undoubtedly more powerful) energy blast hit the otherworldly apparatus, sending both the operator and the soldier down. The second scooter took the place of the first one right after the blast (they were stupid that way), and it was clear as day that the soldier there was feeling pretty pissed off about the way how its comrades had died, if the way how it shrieked down at you told anything.

”I don't like to be yelled at!” you shouted to the loud alien before you repeated your attack in lightning speed, sending the second apparatus with its passengers onto the hard ground next to the first scooter.

”Thanks for visiting New York, _asshats_ , I hope you had a blast.” you muttered as you stared disgustedly at the smoking carcasses that were laying on the ground no more than twelve feet ahead of you.


	18. Ready - steady - GO!

At the same exact moment when the arc-reactor inside your arm whirred into life, Jarvis' sensors picked up a powerful signal coming from few miles downtown, and its similarity with the one signal he had received a few hours ago felt slightly puzzling.

”Sir, something very extraordinary has happened.” the A.I. informed its creator excitedly whilst the said creator was flying towards the giant flying space-worm that had dropped down from the portal only a few short moments ago.

”Okay, something _more_ extraordinary than _this_?” Tony asked incredulously as he aimed and fired several missiles towards the worm. Sadly, his attack only managed to make the worm even more angrier than it was originally, hence it let out an ear shattering shriek before it swatted a nearby building with its massive tail.

”An arc-reactor has been activated not too far from the Tower, sir.” Jarvis said just as Tony turned around in mid air before speeding further away from the alien worm.

” _What?_ How the hell is _that_ even possible!?” Tony questioned and glanced over his shoulder quickly. The damned worm was following him still a little bit too close for his liking.

”I am afraid I do not have an answer for your inquiry just yet, sir –” Jarvis started, but he was interrupted suddenly when an alert started to blare both at his end and at Tony's end, the unexpected sound managing to startle the latter quite a bit.

” _Jesus!?_ Jarvis, what the hell is happening there!?” Tony shouted as the several red, blinking lights had nearly managed to blind him, and he would have preferred to actually see as to where he was flying at, _thank-you-very-much!_

”There has been an security breach from an unidentified source; it has deactivated the lockdown of the safety vault where all the spare and unfinished suits have been stored at.” Jarvis said after he had identified the cause of the alarm, and _now_ was the perfect time for Tony's panic to kick in a new gear:  
”What, _NO!_ Is it Loki's doings!? Don't let him get one of my –”

Tony's sentence was cut short by a loud crash sounding from the other end, and then it was Jarvis' turn to sound distressed:  
”Sir! The Mark I armor of the Heavy Metal-series has been hijacked and is in the process of crashing through the vault!”

” _Holy shit_ , Jarvis!? Try and stop it from leaving by any means necessary!” Tony shouted before another loud crash resounded through the line.

”Sir, the suit has escaped from the vault to the garage-level above, and it seems that it is trying to head outside via the ramp!”

Tony let out a heavy string of curses at Jarvis' words, and he felt unusually helpless when he heard a sound of a blast through the line, meaning that the hijacked suit was undoubtedly airborne now.

” _Crap!_ Okay, uh, listen up everyone! We have a problem here –” Tony was practically yelling into the intercom that he himself and the remaining team shared, before a sudden thought popped into his mind and he remembered to glance behind. The genius swallowed down a rather colourful (and very innovative) curse word before he quickly corrected himself:  
”Scratch that! We have two problems here and we need to get Banner onto the scene, like, _NOW!_ ”

”Banner? Stark, what happened?” Captain America asked via the intercom as he smacked (seemingly effortlessly) an alien down with his shield. Tony all but forgot to answer as he dived downwards in order to distract the worm, but his action had little to no effect whatsoever as the freaking worm was _still_ following him around.

”You're _still_ there!? Ah, what? Just, keep me posted, okay! Jarvis, keep an eye onto the rogue suit and be a darling and _find me a soft spot!_ ” Tony talked a mile a minute whilst the battle continued to rage all around the city, turning more and more hectic by each passing second.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Letting out a deep breath, you allowed your outstretched right hand to fall back to your side, your head feeling mildly sluggish all the sudden, but somehow your mind still managed to realize that there were no longer threats near you which were to be taken care off.

” _Sully!?_ ”

You heard someone call your name, the panicked voice sounding muffled into your ears, like it was coming from a great distance away. Actually, when you started to think about it a little further, everything felt kind of weird, like someone had been messing with time, making everything move in slow motion while the overall volume level had been turned very, very low. A couple of heartbeats later, the flow of time started to finally speed up, and soon the outside world was bombarding you with information like never before.

”Uh, wow, that was... that was really... _violent_ , wasn't it?” you mumbled mostly to yourself as you blinked a couple of times, the blueness of your eyes was fading away with each blink, and it was then when your brains registered fully about what you were currently staring at, and the sight ahead of you made you take a shuddering step backwards.

”Eww, that's just... _eww_.” you said while grimacing and feeling frightened (and honestly, slightly sick).

Bruce had quickly hurried back to your side, and now, he took a gentle hold of your shoulders before he slowly guided you around to look at him instead of the smoking alien carcasses (seriously, those were _hideous!_ ).

”Sully, are you alright?” Bruce asked worriedly as he tried to look into your eyes, as if he was trying to search something from there. He looked just as worried as he sounded like, but you noticed there were also traces of surprise lingering in his deep, dark eyes when your gazes met for a fleeting moment. You blinked and averted your eyes from the man in front of you as you tried to collect your scattered thoughts for a few heartbeats. Ultimately, you gave him a small, slightly unsure, nod:  
”I... yeah, I think I am.”

”How did you just _do_ that?” Bruce asked as he released you from his hold. You gave him a small shrug before you flashed a quick (Stark™) smile to him, mimicking the way how Tony smiled whenever he was feeling uneasy to tell/confess/explain something to someone (for example, Tony trying his best to explain to Pepper as to why, exactly, there is a blue sedan and a robot of the size of a truck head situated at the center of a newly build, gleaming white lab).

”Umm... self-preservation instinct combined with StarkTech, eh?” you answered and hoped that the doctor wouldn't question you any further, well, at least not when you seemed to be in the middle of a potential apocalypse. Unfortunately for you, Bruce did look like he wanted to ask several more questions from you, so, in order to avoid the question spree, you quickly reminded him about the more pressing matters:  
”Uh, you know, should we perhaps continue towards the Tower now? And while we are at it, we should probably take that ugly flying worm down from the sky before it causes any more damage, right?”

You looked at Bruce expectantly, and he pondered about your suggestion exactly two seconds before he nodded and said:  
”Yeah, okay, you're right.”

You sighed silently, feeling utterly relieved that you had managed to avoid the presumably numerous questions (at least, for now) from Bruce's part. Your relief was unfortunately short lived when you two had started to head back towards the old bike, as you both heard a loud and clear sound coming from the direction of the Tower. And, apparently, whatever it was that caused a sound so weird and eerie, was advancing towards your location, the phenomena becoming louder and louder by each passing second.

”That doesn't sound promising.” Bruce said, and the two of you wondered about the sound only a second before you both sprinted the last remaining distance between you two and the bike as fast as you ever could. Bruce hopped onto the rider's seat and started the engine just as you happened to turn your head and look back at the direction of the Tower. Your eyes flew wide open with disbelief and you found yourself unable to move any further.

”No way this is possible...” you whispered to yourself as your whole, undivided attention was now transfixed onto the object flying almost graciously through the air.

”We have get going, Sully!” Bruce said and turned to look at you when he couldn't feel you climb onto the seat behind himself. You glanced at him briefly, and by flashing him a huge, genuine, grin, you stepped a couple of steps back towards the direction from where you were first trying to flee as fast as you could. The object was still airborne as it was flying towards you, and I mean, _only_ you, and it looked like it wasn't lowering its speed anytime soon.

”No Bruce, _you_ gotta get going!” you said to him over your right shoulder, and just as he was about to start arguing with you, you took another step away from him and the bike while slightly rolling your shoulders a couple of times as in preparation of sorts. Then you glanced at the doctor again and said to him with a smile plastered over your face:  
”Because I've got my own ride to pick me up.”

”Wait, _what?_ Sully –” Bruce asked, looking decidedly startled and confused as he stared at you like you had just lost your mind.

You gave a cheeky grin to the doctor before you turned your whole body towards the oncoming flying object, and when you spread open your arms, the solid, black flying _thing_ dismantled itself into several smaller pieces in midair. The parts then sped up rapidly before some of them latched around both of your legs (a loud gasp sounded from behind you), and a heartbeat later, some parts had encased your arms in a similar fashion with your legs. Your torso was the next in line, and after that, only one part was missing from the otherwise complete set. You let your left arm fall back to your side when you simultaneously lifted your right one upwards in order to catch the final piece of the black-and-blue body armor. After securing the helmet between both of your hands, you turned to face a very flabbergasted Bruce. You cringed inwardly and tried to come up with a plausible-sounding explanation in order to avoid some undoubtedly uncomfortable questions.

”Yeah, I know, bit extravagant even from Tony, and yes, I admit I don't really get this myself either.” you said and fiddled slightly with the helmet. Bruce's eyes flickered up and down your armored body, taking in all the details before he seemed to realize it was pointless to even try and understand right now about what the hell just happened, so he just nodded slowly and said:  
”StarkTech, I think I get it.”

You gave him a tiny smile and adjusted the helmet in your hands, but then you paused, sighed and looked at him straight into eye:  
”It is so much more than just that, Bruce. And if we are still alive and kicking when this – this apocalypse – is over, I'll see if I can at least _try_ to explain some of this weirdness to you. But uh, in the mean time, please, try not to get yourself killed.”

When you finished, you averted your eyes onto the helmet and smoothed your right hand over the surface. The mechanism inside the helmet whirred into life and opened it automatically so that you could place it on your head. You lifted your hands and were about to put the helmet on (well, you kind of wanted to take the suit into a test flight, so...), when Bruce stopped you from doing so:  
”Ah, wait!”

There was a certain amount of urgency in the way the doctor hopped down from the bike, he even left the engine on as he hurried to stand face-to-face with you. You looked at him questioningly and were about to ask him that what he was doing, but you didn't get a change when he leaned in closer, took your head lightly between his hands and kissed you gently on your lips. And as soon as the whole thing started, it was over, and Bruce let go of your head before leaning back and blushing with nice, pink hue, and, well, you were pretty sure you weren't exactly colourless either.

”Um, try not to die either, okay?” Bruce said and you stared at him with wide eyes for a few heartbeats (it felt like your brains had short-circuited for a moment), but then you smiled shyly before you quickly shoved the helmet onto your head in order to hide your ever reddening face.

When the helmet was securely on your head and the HUD had automatically activated itself, and when you had gained back some of your (temporarily lost) nerves, you decided you had to at least try to speak with the man in front of you:  
”Right, I, uh, I should probably take this suit to a test flight.”

You felt more than just a little awkward, but when Bruce gave you a short nod while he rubbed at the back of his neck, looking sheepish, you realized that you probably weren't the only one feeling that way.

”And I try to locate the rest of the team and help them out as well as I can.” Bruce said and you stepped a few steps backwards before looking up at the sky and then back at the doctor.

”Hey, uh, Bruce? Y'know, if you happen to encounter the demigod before I do, could you please say him hello from my behalf?” you asked and looked at Bruce via the holographic display. He grinned widely, saying:  
”I can most certainly do that.”

You huffed out a laugh whilst the suit started to prepare itself for a liftoff, making both of your arc-reactors whirr into life before the decorative seams of the suit to lighted up with bright blue energy.

”I assume that this suit is not controlled by Jarvis?” you thought to yourself as you watched how the HUD started to brighten even more. A voice answered to you almost instantly:  
” _AFFIRMATIVE. I WILL SERVE AS YOUR PERSONAL PILOT WHILE YOU ARE WEARING ONE OF THESE SUITS, BUT YOU ARE MOST WELCOME TO TRY AND PILOT BY YOUR OWN ACCORD AT ANY GIVEN TIME, KIRA._ ”

A tender smile formed onto your face at the sound of the very familiar voice that communicated with you inside your own head, and you were happy to tell it your first command:  
”Okay, let's go kick some demigod's ass.”

 

It was the most amazing thing to experience, even more amazing than the first time you were able to walk after the car accident, when the whole suit suddenly became alive, the wild energy pulsing from your arc-reactors made the seams of your armor glow even brighter blue than before. You grinned to yourself and waved to Bruce before you took off from the ground. You were skyrocketing through the air in a blink of an eye, and you absolutely loved every second of it.


	19. To return back to your side

Your laughter bubbled out from the very bottom of your heart as you were skyrocketing heavenwards, the whole experience being so unexpected, absurd and altogether _exhilarating_ that you just couldn't keep your happiness bottled up any longer. You had never felt so free, so _alive_ in your whole life than now, when you felt like you could literally touch the sun with your hands, and it was in that exact moment when you understood perfectly how Tony must feel every time he used one of his own suits, and the realization made a fond smile spread over your face.

” _SYSTEM SCAN COMPLETED, EVERYTHING IS WORKING PERFECTLY WITH NO MALFUNCTIONS IN SIGHT._ ” A.B.I.G.A.I.L. informed you a few seconds after when your laughter had quieted down. A quick look towards the HUD showed you the results of the scan in numbers and short sentences.

”Right, okay, that's good, thanks.” you responded as you eyed the results briefly before letting out a quiet, thoughtful, hum. Your gaze had found the speed meter from the holographic display, and now you were staring at the rapidly changing numbers with slightly wider eyes.

”Um, Abigail, is there any kind of speed limit up here of which I should be aware of? I mean, I kind of believe I'm breaking it heavily right now.” you asked after a beat, and A.B.I.G.A.I.L. responded:  
” _THERE, INDEED, IS A SPEED LIMITATION ABOVE THE CITY THAT APPLIES FOR COMMERICAL AIRPLANES, BUT IT DOES NOT APPLY TO ANY OF THE IRON MAN SUITS NOR THE SUIT THAT YOU YOURSELF ARE CURRENTLY USING, KIRA._ ”

”Really? I didn't know about that.” you said and gazed downwards shortly while reducing your flying speed just a fraction.

” _YES, BUT ALTHOUGH THERE IS NO SET LIMITATION OF HOW FAST YOU MAY FLY IN THE CITY AREA, I WOULD RECOMMEND YOU TO REFRAIN FROM NOT EXCEEDING THE SPEED WHERE IT IS POSSIBLE TO BREAK THE SOUND BARRIER AS THE INTERIOR OF MOST OF THE BUILDINGS IS MADE OF GLASS._ ”

You hummed at the response and said:  
”Yeah, okay, I will keep that in my mind.”

” _THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, I AM SURE THE CITIZENS WILL APPRECIATE YOUR THOUGHTFULNESS, KIRA._ ”

The poorly hidden sarcasm, that was almost identical with Jarvis', in A.B.I.G.A.I.L.'s voice made you snort in amusement as you halted still in the air countless feet above the nearest skyscraper. You hoovered in mid-air, your repulsors and balancing wings working and adjusting your position accordingly as you were turning around slowly, searching for that special someone you so desperately wanted to see right now.

”Abs, could you pinpoint me Iron Man's whereabouts? And maybe the rest of the team too, please?” you asked as you let your gaze travel all the way up to the bright beam of energy and to the black abyss of the portal above the Tower. You shuddered involuntarily at the sight of the abyss, and swallowed nervously as you tore your eyes away from the phenomena.

” _CERTAINLY, KIRA. CAPTAIN AMERICA AND TWO S.H.I.E.L.D. AGENTS ARE FIGHTING AGAINST THE CHITAURI SOLDIERS; THEY ARE LOCATED ON THE STREET NEAR THE TOWER, DOCTOR BANNER IS ADVANCING TOWARDS THEIR GROUP WITH HIS MOTORCYCLE AND IS APPROXIMATELY A MILE AWAY FROM THEM AT THE MOMENT. THE DEMIGOD KNOWN AS THOR HAS CONFRONTED HIS BROTHER LOKI AT THE TOWER'S BALCONY; THEY SEEM TO BE HAVING A BROTHERLY CONVERSATION GOING ON AT THERE. AND WHAT COMES TO THE IRON MAN; HE IS TRYING TO KEEP THE FLYING BEAST OFF FROM THE STREETS, THE SAID BEAST APPEARS TO BE QUITE ANGRY FOR REASONS WHICH ARE UNKNOWN TO ME AT THIS EXACT MOMENT._ ”

A.B.I.G.A.I.L. finished summarizing the overall situation, and you let out a sigh before you said:  
”Okay, sounds to me that he's got a handle on that for now, so I propose that we should try to eliminate the stray aliens out of the way, um, we _do_ have some weapons with us, right?”

” _INDEED WE HAVE, KIRA. FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE A NICE SET OF JERICHO-MISSILES LOCATED AT THE SHOULDER-AREAS WITH A VARIETY OF HEAT-SEEKING MISSILES STASHED ONTO THE BACKSIDE OF THIS SUIT, THEN THERE ARE SOME HEAVY-DUTY LASERS LOCATED ON TOP OF THE SUIT'S GLOVES._ ” A.B.I.G.A.I.L. listed briskly, making you feel just a little bit shocked at the amount of firepower Tony had installed into the suit.

”Right...” you muttered to yourself, but your A.I. wasn't quite finished yet:  
” _AND DUE TO THE FACT THAT YOU YOURSELF ARE EQUIPPED WITH TWO ARC-REACTORS, WHICH POWER IS BASICALLY UNLIMITED, YOUR SUIT IS CURRENTLY FASTER THAN ANY OF YOUR BROTHER'S SUIT HAS EVER BEEN, MEANING THAT IF EVERYTHING ELSE FAILS AND ALL OF OUR BIG GUNS HAVE ALREADY BEEN SPEND, YOU ARE STILL CAPABLE OF BLASTING OFF YOUR ENEMIES WITH YOUR REPULSORS BEFORE YOU MAY FLY AWAY TO THE SAFETY._ ”

You blinked a little stunned before you lifted both of your hands closer to your face in order to look at them with fascination.  
”Alright, that is somewhat... soothing, I guess. Is there anything else I should know before we go and join the party, or are we good for now?” you asked then and looked around yourself before you quickly noticed how several of those ugly aliens were flying towards the city.

” _FOR MY CONSIDERATION, KIRA, WE ARE GOOD TO GO AND HAVE A BLAST._ ” A.B.I.G.A.I.L. said and you grinned at that before you said:  
”Okay, awesome. Hey, uh, if there is a way, could you please try to contact Jarvis and then possibly Tony too?”

” _I WILL TRY MY HARDEST TO CONTACT THEM BOTH, AND I WILL INFORM YOU AS SOON AS I HAVE OPENED A COMMUNICATION LINE FOR THEM._ ” A.B.I.G.A.I.L. assured you, making you feel a little bit more at ease. You let out a silent sigh before you smiled and said:  
”Well then, let's go show some of our wicked party moves to our visitors, Abs.”

” _YES, LET US ROCK THEIR WORLD, KIRA._ ” A.B.I.G.A.I.L. responded with faked seriousness, and you laughed heartily before you sped down towards the city, the sensors of your suit picking up stray aliens and informing you to take care of them before they had a chance to cause damage to the city.

 

* * *  
”Sir, there is an unidentified flying object that is rapidly advancing towards you from behind the enemy leviathan.” Jarvis informed Tony after the suit's sensors had noticed how something very fast had emerged from behind a random skyscraper before it had started to follow the humongous flying creature. Unfortunately, the object had seemed to conclude that it was more fun to follow Tony around instead of the ugly flying worm/whale thingy.

” _What!?_ Please don't tell me it's the rogue suit–” Tony groaned, turning his head in order to look behind his shoulder just as the black-and-blue object came to his field of vision thanks to the HUD. The discovery made his eyes go wide.

”Sir, it seems that the object is, indeed, the rogue suit.” Jarvis said and Tony sucked in a breath, thinking he wouldn't make it back home if there was the rogue suit to fight off too. After all, he _had_ installed a pretty nifty cavalcade of ammunition into the suit.

”O-ou.” Tony said, panic starting to bubble inside his heart as the rogue suit was reaching him, the brand new suit being way faster than he had made it to be in a first place.

 

* * *  
”Abs! I need the line open, _now!_ ” you shouted as you stared at the ugly creature currently flying in front of you, the said creature tailing a red-and-gold suit like a hungry shark would have been stalking a surfer in way too deep waters. And as you sped forwards, you noticed how several stray alien-scooter things emerged from behind a building and were now coming towards you, Tony and the flying whale, leaving Tony in the middle of a danger zone.

” _I AM STILL TRYING TO OPEN THE LINE, BUT TRYING TO ROUND PAST THE SECURITY MEASURES HAS PROVEN TO BE A BIT MORE TIME CONSUMING THAN I ORIGINALLY THOUGHT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN! EVERY SECURITY POINT REQUIRES ITS OWN INDIVIDUAL PASSWORD!_ ” A.B.I.G.A.I.L. responded and you cursed under your breath:  
”God dammit, we don't have time for this!”

As soon as you had said that, you saw how Tony's concentration was suddenly turned away from you and towards the stray pack of aliens flying towards him with fastening speed, and the sight of it all made something inside of you snap.

”You have picked the wrong family to hit on, you bastards!” you yelled furiously while your suit's repulsors blasted you forwards with almost window-shattering speed, leaving a frail trail of blue light behind you as you reached to help the man who had once helped you out of a deep, dark pit.

 

* * *  
”Whoa, Jarvis!? We have a problem here!” Tony shouted and made a rapid move onto the left in order to avoid the rogue suit, which didn't seem to slow down its speed at all.

”Sir, there is an unidentified attempt towards the secured communication line as we speak.” Jarvis said just when the black-and-blue suit hurtled past his creator and towards the enemy soldiers.

”Can this day become any more fantastic than it already is?” Tony asked hysterically as he witnessed how the suit seemed to join forces with the aliens. But to his huge surprise, the suit circled past the shrieking aliens, popped up a tiny rocket-launcher from its right shoulder and fired an attack towards the aliens instead of Tony. The whole thing had lasted only a few heartbeats, but it was enough to leave one certain genius feel stunned.

”Uh, what just happened?” Tony asked confused and saw how the other suit made a quick flip in the air in order to look back while still flying several feet ahead of him. It felt almost like the presumably hostile suit was checking if Tony was okay.

”Did it just... save my life here...” Tony muttered to himself and then his eyes went wide as the darker coloured suit made a peace-sing with its right hand fingers, and before Tony could restrain himself, he waved to the suit, receiving a curt nod in return.

”Jarvis, we need to get an open line to that suit by any means necessary!” Tony said as the suit sped off before disappearing between two tall buildings, leaving Tony to deal with the leviathan.

”Yes sir.” Jarvis responded and started to accomplish the task.

 

* * *  
_”Well, that was somewhat satisfying.”_ you thought to yourself as you sped off after saving Tony, and it was then when you spotted new targets coming towards you from your right side, and from that moment on, your whole attention was again turned on towards the growing number of alien forces.


	20. Unexpected occurrences

Meanwhile, on the ground level, Captain America, Black Widow and Hawkeye (i.e. Steve, Natasha and Clint) were keeping themselves fairly busy by fighting against the endless horde of aliens, and just when the battle started to seem hopeless, Thor decided to make a grand entrance by blasting the hell out of the enemy soldiers with a massive strike of lightning, dropping them dead on their tracks as he made a touch-down onto the ground.

”What's the story upstairs, Thor?” Steve asked as they had now a chance to take a deep breath and assess the situation where they were in at currently. Thor pushed himself in a standing position from where he had leaned against a wrecked car (it had probably been a taxi once...) in order to answer to his fellow warrior's question:  
”The powers surrounding the cube is impenetrable.”

Tony was listening the conversation through their shared comm. line and confirmed what Thor had just said:  
”Point Break is right. We just gotta deal with these guys for now.”

”How do we do this?” Natasha asked while her partner wandered off to the side in order to fetch back some of his arrows which were sticking out of their fallen enemies. Steve looked around himself briefly before replying:  
”As a team.”

”I have unfinished business with Loki.” Thor said instantly, lifting his hammer to make a point when Clint grunted from behind them all while inspecting one of his arrows:  
”Yeah, get in line.”

Thor looked like he was ready to bark out an argument when Steve sensed it and ended the brewing quarrel by using his Captain America-voice:  
”Save it. Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him, these things could run wild. We got Stark up top, he's gonna need us...”

Steve kind of forgot to finish his speech when they all heard a sound of a rusty engine advance towards them, making everyone to turn their attention towards the vehicle. And to their great surprise, they saw how a man riding a motorbike turned off the rumbling engine and climbed down from the seat. He took a sweeping, almost like a searching, look around the city as he started to walk towards the team.

”So, uh, this all seems horrible.” Bruce said a bit awkwardly when he had reached the surprised looking team and was now standing in front of them. None of them had had much faith in the prospect that the doctor would have shown up to the battle scene, even if he would have survived from the fall in a first place. Well, no-one, except one genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist, of course.

”I have seen worse.” Natasha said with a cool facade, feeling slightly intimidated to be this close to a man who could turn into a raging beast and tear down the rest of the city in a blink of an eye. She had seen the footage of the Hulk chasing down Stark's sister at the helicarrier, and she couldn't help but feel slightly terrified.

”Sorry.” Bruce said quietly while lowering his eyes to the ground, one part of him knowing that the redhead had to be aware of the destruction that his green alter-ego had caused earlier at the day.

”No. I think we could use a little worse.” Natasha then said with a straight face and Bruce nodded absentmindedly, his thoughts steering towards this one girl, and soon he was wondering about how much his green alter-ego had really hurt her, and he started to grow even more worried when he thought about the amount of pain she was probably feeling at this very moment.

It was Steve's voice that pulled Bruce's darkening thoughts back to the present time, as the Captain informed Iron Man about the current situation via the comm. line:  
”Stark? We got him.”

”Banner? Well, it was about time.” Tony responded and made a quick turn to his left.

”Just like you asked.” Steve said while he eyed the doctor's appearance.

”Awesome, tell him to suit up 'cause I'm bringing this party to you.” Tony said, feeling utterly relieved because now he could hand the oversized, flying earth-worm (or is it a space-worm? Well, there is at least one wormhole already, so...) to someone else who was more capable of squashing it down than he himself was. He had more urgent things to worry about than the humongous flying alien tailing at him, as he still needed to cope with the whole rogue-suit-issue. And boy, didn't that sound fun or what?

When Tony turned around a corner, the creature still following him way, way too close, he saw how the rest of the team stood on the street near the Tower, everyone seemed to be ready to battle with whatever was coming to confront them this time.

”I... I don't see how _that_ is a party...” Natasha muttered to herself as the creature came into their view from behind a building and its true size became apparent to them all. They witnessed how Iron Man lowered his flying altitude as he was closing their formation, the creature mimicking his movements behind him and building up its speed and anger. Bruce looked behind himself briefly, meeting Steve's gaze and silently asking if they _really_ wanted to set free another monster before turning his attention back towards the massive alien as he started to walk towards it.

”Dr. Banner.” Steve called Bruce and the brunette turned to look at him without slowing his pace.

”Now might be a really good time for you to get angry.” Steve continued and Bruce gave him a crooked smile before responding, his vision already blurring with green:  
”That's my secret, Captain. I'm always angry.”

The team watched how the unassuming-looking man in front of them turned into a huge, green, raging creature in mere seconds and smashed the flying beast straight onto its nose, flipping the beast upside down in the air. And with a little assistance from Iron Man and his rocket-launcher, the beast was dead and splattered into bits and pieces on the streets all around them in no time.

 

* * *  
” _Please_ tell me somebody got that on tape.” you said excitedly as you flew past the place where Tony had lured the flying beast, all the while shooting down aliens from left and right.

” _KNOWING YOUR BROTHER'S ANTICS, I BET IT IS ALREADY ON YOUTUBE, KIRA._ ” A.B.I.G.A.I.L. answered and you laughed because it might as well be true.

”By the way, why did these aliens started to scream all the sudden? I mean, they weren't exactly quiet before, but now they sound even crazier...” you spoke and then happened to glance up to the sky, and what you saw coming down from the portal, made your heart skip a beat, and not in a good way.

”Never mind, I think I might already know...” you muttered and halted still in the mid air, your attention first fixed onto the portal before it shifted to stare at the growing, never-ending swarm of aliens which were pouring down from there.

”This is _so_ not my day–!?” you started, feeling exhausted, hungry and sore already, but didn't get to finish when – without a warning and completely out of nowhere – something collided with you, pretty hard actually, and send the both of you hurling towards the ground.

” _Abigail!?_ God dammit, get it off of me!” you shouted, panicking, as you soon realized what the thing that had hit you and latched itself around you was; apparently the aliens didn't like it when you had shot so many of them down, thus they had send one of their soldiers to commit a kamikaze-mission in order to take you down as a twisted payback.

” _ALREADY WORKING ON IT! INITIATING A SHOCK USING THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE SUIT IN FIVE – FOUR –_ ” A.B.I.G.A.I.L. said while you hit the alien with your fists in no avail, your altitude dropping towards the not-so-soft surface of the city too fast for your liking.

” _– THREE – TWO – ONE!_ ”

You heard a high-pitched charging-sound before you felt how a huge amount of energy coursed through your entire body, the sudden action leaving you breathless and dizzy. The ugly-ass alien shrieked straight onto your helmet-clad face before the energy shot onto the surface of your suit, illuminating the air around you with bright blue glow in the process, and with an audible _zap!_ , the alien was deep-fried in a blink of an eye.

Unfortunately for you, the whole action came a tad too late, as you couldn't straighten up your posture in time as the alien carcass was still stuck around you and weighing you downwards, and a split second later, your eyes went wide and a scream escaped from you when the altitude-meter gave its final warning a heartbeat before you hurled onto the ground, the collision sending bits of rubble and dust into the air.

 

* * *  
On the street, the Avengers-team turned their heads to look up at the sky when the aliens started to scream loudly, and they saw how more and more of their enemies started to pour down from the portal above the city.

”Aww crap.” Clint muttered as he realized that there was no freaking way his arrows would be enough to take down even a portion of the incomers.

”Guys.” Natasha said overwhelmed, looking up like everyone else around her.

”Uh, do you guys remember that I said there is also a rogue suit flying around the city?” Tony asked and gained everyone's attention to himself. His HUD was displaying the whereabouts of the suit and he noticed that it was currently hoovering in the air not too far from their location.

”You mean that one?” Clint asked before anyone got a chance to say anything while pointing at the stilled object in the air and starting to reach his hand towards the quiver on his back.

”Yea, that one.” Tony replied as they were all staring at the suit, each one of them feeling restlessness seep in.

”Stark, there better be an explanation for this.” Steve said as he adjusted his shield in his hands.

”Yeah... Captain, you're not the only one who wants to know the explanation.” Tony said and was about to blast off into the air, when, to everyone's surprise, one of their enemy's flying scooters emerged from behind a wrecked building in high speed and collided with the suit, allowing an additional soldier to latch itself onto its target as the vehicle then hurried to the opposite direction as fast as it could (read: like a bat out of hell).

”The hell?” Clint voiced everyone's opinion as the team watched how the suit tried to fight its way free from the aliens grip. Tony felt something inside his heart stir as he witnessed the desperate way of how the suit tried to flail its fists, and his eyes widened with utter surprise. He had seen those same desperate movements before, night after night, when flailing hands tried to fight against nightmares and all-too-fresh memories.

” _Shit!_ Guys! We have to do something to help!” Tony said quickly and took a step away from his team as the said team turned to look at him.

”How and why?” it was Natasha who asked, and Steve asked before Tony got a chance to answer:  
”Isn't it just an empty suit –”

”It's not! It's not empty at all and I know – it's designed so that only one person has the permission – has the _right_ – to use it!” Tony interrupted Steve, making him look confused.

”Then who is this person who also wears an iron armor, O Man of Iron?” Thor asked and Tony huffed out a desperate sound, darting his eyes towards the rapidly falling figure at the same moment when there was a flash of bright blue light coming from the direction of the falling suit, accompanied with a loud shriek of a dying alien, and Tony gasped and blasted himself into the air without giving an answer of any kind first.

 

”Jarvis! Tell me she is alive, _tell me_ that she has survived! _Please_ , let it be true...” Tony said to his A.I., his voice fading towards the end, and got an answer that made him feel confused:  
”Sir, the system that has been operating the suit until this very moment, has drained energy from two very powerful arc-reactors before that said energy discharged, successfully eliminating the leeching alien. And due to the fact that the operating system's firewalls were lowered because of the blast, I was able to form a connection with it. The A.I. operating the whole system and co-piloting the suit, is called A.B.I.G.A.I.L., sir.”

Tony then saw how the suit crashed down with the carcass attached onto its front and he sucked in a breath.

”Abigail?” he muttered as he blasted faster towards the scene, and when he reached the impact area, he lowered himself onto the ground. Thick dust was swirling around the genius and the fallen suit when Jarvis said something that made Tony's heart skip a beat:  
”Automated Biomechanical Intelligence, Genetically Activated Internal Lifesaver, a.k.a. A.B.I.G.A.I.L., the creator and the only known user of said A.I. being Sullivan, Kira Abigail.”


	21. A happy reunion

_”Aughh... God...”_ you thought hazily as you were returning back into the land of the living from your short visit to the realm of Unconsciousness (for the second time today). You groaned lowly in discomfort and tried to blink your eyes open. At first, you could only see two small holes and the dim light that shine through them and into your bleary eyes before the lights inside the iron mask started to flicker on, little slowly at first but soon they were bombarding you with the information regarding your current status.

 _”Welp... wasn't that just a smooth landing, dammit...”_ you thought as you realized that you were lying on the ground (in a small crater that you had created), and that you were trapped under the dead alien, and then when you tried to move yourself, you noticed how your long-time friend and companion – also known as _pain_ – still hadn't left you alone. It felt like every single muscle in your body ached and throbbed and you were quite certain that the bump on your head had grown even bigger than it had been earlier.

 _”Jesus, this day sucks tremendously...”_ you thought tiredly while A.B.I.G.A.I.L. was running a check-up on the background and was giving you the summary regarding your injuries and the minor (and the not-so-minor) damages that the suit had taken on itself from the impact. You listened only halfheartedly as you tried to push the freewheeling dead alien off from your iron clad body, only to come into full alertness when the said alien was ripped off from you suddenly.

” _The hell–!?_ ” you squeaked and blinked rapidly and tried to land a hit onto the someone who had actually helped you, not that you were actually aware of that yet.

”Hey – whoa!? Easy there! I was just trying to help you!”

You stopped your attack jerkily when your brains suddenly registered about what (and who) you were staring at from your spot on the crater; never had colours red and gold been so relieving and comforting to see than they were now.

” _Tony?_ ” you breathed out just as the red-and-gold clad armor was extending his right hand towards you (while also invading your personal space), obviously trying to offer you a leverage. You blinked, still feeling a bit disoriented, but reached your own right hand to grasp onto his and he hollered you to stand on your shaking feet.

”Okay, _now_ I kinda hope that you're not any kind of hostile artificial intelligence who tries to take over the world and slaughter all the humans or make us slaves because I'm not ready to die yet and or do hard manual work any time soon –” Tony started to ramble quite animatedly while still invading your personal space (he never learns, does he?). You swayed a little before you found a relatively steady footing.

”– and, y'know, there's also this alien god who wants to do exactly that and I doubt that does he really want to share this world with you? But anyway, I kinda want to see how you two clash together in order to gain the ultimate power –”

You sighed as Tony's rambling started to become more and more lengthier, and then lifted both of your hands onto your helmet, gaining his attention back to you and you were sure that he was mentally preparing himself to fight (or flee) if the situation called it.

”Well, I don't know about that whole A.I.-part, but I can assure you, Tony, that –” you talked while your fingers found and clicked few flat buttons which were located onto the surface of the helmet. The mechanism inside the headpiece whirred alive, expanding the helmet and dislodging it from the neck piece of the suit.

”– I am going to hurt that poor soul who even _tries_ to block me out of your master bathroom and prevents me of using your _**gloriously**_ ridiculous Olympic-sized hot-tub with jets after this day is over.” you continued as you lifted the helmet off from your head and then held it in your hands as you finished your speech. The red-and-gold armor stared at you silently for what felt like an eternity, but then you heard a loud gasp and Tony's faceplate popped open, revealing his unbelieving face.

”This isn't a hallucination, right? I mean, you really _are_ here? Because, uh, I'm _vaguely_ sure that I haven't been around any kind of Dutch Café's since my college days –” Tony said, stepping closer to you and you stopped his rambling before he could say another word:   
”Tony, I haven't gone anywhere. I _am_ here.”

Tony fell silent at that, and then he scanned you from head to toe with his eyes. He then let out a long breath of air before he latched himself around you.

”You are here! Thank God, you are here!” the genius said happily while hugging you, and you huffed out a laugh before you gave him a one armed hug whilst you held the helmet with your other hand. Suddenly Tony pulled himself away from you, but held you still with his hands grasped around your upper arms. He looked puzzled when he asked:  
”How, exactly, _are_ you here?”

”You know, I'm not entirely sure.” you replied with a small shrug and then Tony seemed to notice the bump on your head and your exhausted expression and he grew worried (well, more worried than he already was). But before he got to say anything regarding your head injury, you looked up at the sky and then behind his back and then you let out a tired sigh:  
”I think our conversation has to wait 'till we have sorted this mess out, Tony.”

Tony looked up briefly too before he let go of you and said, sounding unenthusiastic:  
”I guess so, Kira...”

You two shared a look before you lifted the helmet over your head using both of your hands and slipped it on at the same time as Tony's faceplate slid back on its place.

”You wanna join the party, kiddo?” Tony asked while taking few steps towards the craters' edge. You rolled your shoulders (along with your eyes) and followed him, saying:  
”You are kidding me, right? You haven't noticed that I have already _crashed_ into it?”

You were one hundred percent sure that Tony was smirking at your good nature quip as he blasted off into the air and towards the remaining team. You let out a tired huff before you blasted yourself high up into the air too, leaving a trail of blue light and fine dust behind. You made a smooth turn and then spotted Tony landing on the ground not too far from you. You slowed down your speed and then stopped to hoover in the mid air. Tony was having a conversation with the team, everyone's attention was focused on him, but that changed when he turned slightly and pointed at you:  
”Okay guys, say hello to our newest party member.”

You heard Tony's voice through the newly opened communication line, and you waved your right hand at them whilst staying relatively high in the air. You took a glance around the overall area before you made a slight move in the air in order to land a little more controlled this time. Everyone was looking at you now with varying expressions of alertness as you lowered yourself onto the ground with as much grace as you could muster in order not to strain your aching body more than it was absolutely necessary. You let out a sigh of relief as the landing went perfectly this time, you could honestly call it as a smooth one in a situation like this.

”Stark, are you sure that this isn't just another scheme from Loki?” you heard Rogers' voice asking while he eyed your figure with a doubting expression over his face. You then turned your head to look at the other members of the group and noticed how Thor's eyebrows furrowed and his grip around the hammer tightened visibly, agent Romanoff regarded you with cool, calculative eyes and the guy with a bow looked like someone who hadn't got the same memo as everyone else had. And as you turned your head to look upwards at the last member of the group, you were surprised to notice how his eyes darted to look at the red-and-gold suit before he turned them to look at you, and he cocked his head only a fragment before he flashed you a huge grin. You blinked but found yourself smiling back at him, although he, nor anyone else, couldn't see it.

Tony walked to stand next to you and he draped his right arm around your shoulder before addressing the good old Captain:  
”Captain, –”

Tony patted at your right shoulder with his hand and turned to look at you briefly before continuing to speak with the old relic– uh, I mean– the Captain:  
”– I assure you that this one here wants to see Loki fail as much as any of us want.”

You nodded your confirmation and the Captain seemed to be considering it before he nodded slowly too:  
”Okay then.”

”So, what's the game plan for now?” Tony then asked and the Captain looked around himself and, well, started to act like the team leader he was supposed to be:  
”Alright. Everyone, listen up. Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on the roof, eyes on everything; call out patterns and strays. Stark, you two got the perimeter; anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or burn it to ash.”

Tony extracted his arm from around you and then turned to speak to you:  
”Try to stay safe, K, I don't want to lose you again.”

You nodded and replied:  
”I will, and please, try not to do anything stupid either, I don't want to lose you too, Tony.”

After that, you turned to look at the Captain and the rest of the team and noticed how Rogers had a slightly puzzled look on his face. You saluted him lazily, saying ”Captain.”, before you blasted up into the air.

Hawkeye had walked closer to Tony before asking:  
”Wanna give me a lift?”

Tony looked at him and placed his right hand on the archer's back, gripping the straps of the quiver into his hold.

”Right, okay. Better clench up, Legolas.”

And wasting no time at all, the duo was soon flying high in the air, and Tony lowered the archer on the rooftop of one tall office building as the rest of the team received their orders from their leader on the ground level. Tony saw how a large, green figure leaped upwards and latched itself onto a random building's surface, and he couldn't help but grin inside his helmet before he proceeded to speed towards the other direction, blasting aliens down along the way.


	22. Where you go, I go (we will face it all, together)

You had been flying through the air whilst collecting a small pack of aliens behind you (this time with a purpose) when you happened to enter to the scene where Thor was currently summoning lightning with his raised hammer all the while gripping onto the pole on top of the (shiny!) Chrysler Building. After a brief moment of wondering about what, exactly, was he doing up there, you congratulated the God of Thunder silently for providing an entertaining (and a very flashing) show when he had aimed and released the lightning towards the gaping portal and the aliens which were pouring downwards from there. It was particularly epic to see how one of the space-worms literally _exploded_ before it had even gotten halfway out of the portal.

”That was wicked cool...” you said to yourself before changing your flying position so that your back was now facing the ground. You were able to see your followers more easily, and after locking your last missiles onto their targets, you set them free from their shoulder holsters before adding a little boost onto your flying speed. You flipped back to more comfortable flying position, not even bothering to look back when the missiles found their targets and brought the shrieking aliens down.

”Hey, Kira?”

You heard Tony's voice calling you through the private comm. line that only the two of you shared, and you answered, feeling a little out of breath:  
”Yeah?”

”Just checking that how you're doing in your end.”

”Well, I think I'm doing great, I mean, I just shot a couple of these asses down because I didn't like the way of how they were following me around.” you answered truthfully.

”Right, that's uh, good to hear, I guess.” Tony said then, but you sensed that he still had something else bugging in his mind, and surely:  
”So, I was thinking...”

”...Yea?”

”I kind of want to know that would you like to participate into a small contest, that is, if you don't have anything against one?”

”Um, it depends, what kinda contest it would be?” you asked, feeling slightly puzzled.

”Well, I was thinking of something like ´the-person-who-kills-the-largest-amount-of-aliens-shall-swim-in-a-pool-of-cash´ kinda contest.” Tony said, sounding almost serious and you rolled your eyes, sighing tiredly and saying:  
”Tony, seriously?”

”What? I thought it would have lightened up the situation. Barton's in it too, you know.”

”Uh, who's Barton?” you asked, not remembering ever hearing the name before, or, you actually _had_ heard about it but then had forgotten it due to the impact that caused the bump on your forehead earlier.

”You know, the guy with the bow and arrows.” Tony answered and you hummed:  
”Oh, right...”

”So? You in?” Tony inquired and you sighed silently.

”Eh, fine, I'm in with a solid Ben, hope that'll suffice.” you said and were sure that Tony was grinning from ear to ear. 

”Alright, your input has been noted and Jarvis will announce the winner at the end of this mayhem. Good luck, K.”

”Yea, same to you, Tony.” you said and then sped downwards, and while doing so, you yet again managed to collect a small pack of aliens behind you. You flew all the way down to the street level, and from time to time when you were following the road, you made a tight corner or a backward flip and blasted your followers into pieces by either using your repulsors or the lasers located on top of your iron gloves.

 

The battle continued to rage all around you, the city, and the rest of the team, and its intensity started to take its toll from everyone. You noticed briefly how the red-headed agent below and ahead of you ran towards the Captain before she jumped and used his shield as a some sort of leverage, and it all clicked into place when you saw how she grabbed a hold of one of the flying enemy crafts before she eliminated the soldier and started to steer the rider as she pleased.

”Welp, that was something new...” you muttered to yourself, and then suddenly noticed how several alien soldiers were advancing towards the Captain's location. You made a quick U-turn in the air and flew back to there where he was standing.

You landed maybe a little too hastily and the impact send a jolt of pain course through your body as a protest, but you simply didn't have time to wallow in it for too long as the soldiers were aiming their weapons towards you and the Captain now. Rogers looked a little startled and maybe a bit alarmed to see how a black-and-blue armor landed so near him, but before he could do or say anything, you had lifted both your arms and used the lasers against your enemies.

You lowered your hands back to down before you took a sweeping glance over the lifeless carcasses laying on the ground. You were thinking about exiting the scene as your job there was done, but when you had taken a step away from the Captain and were just about to take another one, he suddenly found his voice and called after you:  
”Hey, wait!”

You turned your body slightly in order to look at him over your right shoulder and then stopped and turned to fully look at him as you waited for him to speak.  
”Thanks for helping me down here.” Rogers said and nodded his head as a thank you. You returned the gesture and then heard a familiar sound advancing the two of you, and by tilting your head to look up at the sky, you saw how Tony (Iron Man) flew over your place and towards the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who was riding/flying the scooter. He took care of the stray aliens which were tailing the said agent and you let out a silent sigh, and after stepping a few steps away from the Captain, you once again took off towards the skies above.

 

* * * * *  
At the same time when you were helping out the Captain near the Tower, a conversation ended high above the sea, and a devastating plan was put into action despite the best efforts from Director Fury.

”Stark, you hearing me? We have a missile headed straight for the city as we speak.” the Director called Tony with the utmost urgency, and the genius swore that his heart missed more than just one beat upon hearing Fury's words.

”How long?” Tony managed to ask whilst Jarvis was already pinpointing the said missile in the background.

”Three minutes, at best.” came the chilling answer and Tony swallowed hard before making a turn towards the fast flying object.  
* * * * *

 

At one point during your flight, you had suddenly came to realize that you had advanced further away from the Tower and the rest of the team, and just when you had started to make your way back towards them all, you stilled in the mid-air thanks to the conversation you were hearing through the comm. line:  
”I can close it! Guys, can anybody hear me? I can shut down the portal!”

It was the red-headed agent who was addressing you all, and you instinctively looked up to the sky and into the portal.

”Do it, agent!” came the Captains order, but Tony's alarmed voice interrupted him:  
”No, wait!”

You were more than slightly puzzled because of Tony's outburst, but didn't have a chance to say anything, when:  
”Stark, these things are still coming, we have no choice –” Rogers spoke, but yet again, Tony interrupted, and his next words send a wave of coldness and horror cascading through your body:  
”I got a nuke coming in, it's gonna blow less than a minute! And I know just where to put it.”

Your eyes went wide and you gasped just as your sensors beeped and showed you how something fast was advancing the city, and then they beeped again, only to show how something equally fast was flying towards the first object.

”What?! Tony, no!” you voiced your panicked thoughts and finally got yourself moving.

”Hey Kira, remind me to make that one upgrade in Dum-E's motherboard when I get back, okay?” Tony spoke to you through the secured line, and you felt how the corners of your eyes started to prickle.

”Tony...” you managed to say despite the lump in your throat. You were being completely unaware of how your speed meter was climbing higher and higher by every passing second.

”You know, the one I mentioned you last week? About how U has to follow Dum-E around and mop the floors because _someone_ has to spill the drinks whenever he tries to carry them in his claw.” Tony said and you heard a loud clank resound from his end.

”Tony, you can't do this, think about – think about Pepper, Tony.” you said and felt the first tear roll down your cheek, but before Tony got a chance to reply, Rogers spoke to him:  
”Stark, you know that's a one way trip.”

Tony was silent for a second before he sighed and chose to speak to you instead of the Captain:  
”I'm gonna make it back, I swear.”

After that, the line went silent, making your heart clench horribly. You were now closer to the Tower than you were when the whole conversation started, but still you were too far from it for your own liking. And, to your horror, you noticed how close Tony was to the Tower and the portal above it, and you hastily spoke to your A.I.:  
”Abs, what are the chances for Tony to survive from the portal, alive?”

” _IT IS, AT CURRENTLY, LESS THAN THIRTY PERCENT._ ” A.B.I.G.A.I.L. informed you, and even she sounded devastated. You bit your lip rather hard before saying hoarsely:  
”Then I'm gonna be the seventy percent that will bring him back home.”

 

Your speed meter blinked its warning as you directed every ounce of energy from your arc-reactors towards your repulsors, and then there was a brief charging-sound before you rocketed towards the portal, shattering few windows along the way and leaving a impossibly bright trail of bluish-white energy behind you at the same time when Tony, and the missile he was carrying, disappeared through the portal and into the cold, dark, abyss.

Seconds later, every living person around the city, as well as those who were sitting behind their TV-monitors, witnessed how something very, very fast flew through the air, only to see how it disappeared through the gaping portal above the newly opened Stark Tower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, hey there, folks! The title of this chapter is from Adele's song called Skyfall, she shall get the credits, not me.


	23. (We are) shooting stars

_… stars ..._

_… so ..._

_… many ..._

_… **stars ...**_

 

There were so many bright lights shining everywhere where you happened to look at, that the sight made you feel overwhelmed, and the cold beauty of the vast space opening up in front of you caused you to nail your eyes onto the numerous constellations that the distant stars were creating...

...it was a breathtaking view indeed...

...but as gorgeous the twinkling patterns were, not a single one of them looked familiar to you...

...and _that_ fact was absolutely _**terrifying**_...

 

But, apparently because the situation wasn't already bad enough, there also had to be a humongous, looming object floating (seemingly) peacefully in front of a bright nebula, and then there was Tony, who was flying straight towards it with a damned missile grasped onto his back.

”Tony!?” you yelled desperately from the bottom of your lungs, only to discover that he couldn't hear you, _at all_. Your outburst left you gasping for air, and you came to realize few things quite quickly;

It seemed, that the suit you wore (as brilliantly made as it was), wasn't exactly meant for space-travel of any kind.

It seemed, that in order to travel in space, there should be additional oxygen-tanks attached onto the suit.

Also, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to wear some sort of thermal suit under the exoskeleton which was made of iron, gold and titanium.

And lastly, it would have been a major plus if there wouldn't have been the _need_ to fly into the deep space in a first place.

 

You tried to calm your breathing whilst your repulsors were working in overtime; you could literally feel how your arc-reactors struggled to keep the flow of energy stable enough so that you could somewhat still move forward.

” _OXYGEN LEVELS ARE DECREASING, THE SUIT IS BECOMING MORE AND MORE UNSTABLE, BOTH ARC-REACTORS HAVE STARTED TO OVERHEAT –_ ” A.B.I.G.A.I.L. was alerting you from all of the malfunctions which had started to appear, but your attention was solely focused on Tony now.

He had finally let go of the missile and you noticed how the flight-stabilizers, located onto his back, dislodged themselves, allowing him to slowly fall towards you and the portal below. Several warning-lights were blinking inside your helmet, and new ones were appearing as more and more seconds went by, but there was nothing you could do to them other than to ignore them all for now, when you had to push yourself to your limits in order to reach forwards and grab a firm hold of the falling figure.

”Let's go home, okay?” you said quietly whilst your heart clenched at the sight of Tony and his suit; the brilliant and ever-comforting blue light was gone, and you were certain that the coldness you had felt earlier, had finally found itself a permanent place to stay, wrapping itself tightly around your rapidly beating heart.

”Tony? Come on, don't you dare leave me now...” you managed to whisper despite the tightness in your throat, and then you touched Tony's helmet-clad face with your hand before quickly glancing behind you. Your eyes shot wide open at the sight of the humongous alien space-ship exploding at the distance, and you started to feel more and more anxious when you noticed how much the impact was creating light. A brief thought regarding supernovas crossed your mind, and you decided that it was probably a good idea for the two of you to hurry the hell away from the danger zone, the faster the better.

”Right... hang on there, Tony, I'm gonna get us back...” you muttered and turned back to look at Tony, before you made the decision to direct every last ounce of energy from your overheated reactors into your suits repulsors, and despite the radiating pain that your decision caused you to feel, you managed to get the two of you moving towards the portal and your own world – realm – plane – _whatever_ – _**home**_.

 

It definitely wasn't a heartwarming feeling to suddenly notice how the gaping portal had started to close down below you, when you two were _still floating in the deep space, dammit!_

”Oh shit...” you wheezed out and closed your eyes, mentally preparing for the inevitable, but against all the odds, you suddenly felt a hard yank pulling you two downwards, the sheer force of it knocking all air out from your lungs in the process.

 

A.B.I.G.A.I.L.'s final warning rang inside your helmet before everything went dead silent, the blinking lights dimmed and darkness conquered your mind again, and what comes to the portal... well, it swirled closed just as fast as it had opened earlier that day...

 

 

...and it seemed that you had a blind date set with the asphalt, again...


	24. After the darkness, there's always light

It was the muffled mixture of sirens and alarms resounding from many different emergency vehicles situated all across the city that managed to stir up your consciousness a little bit. Your head felt more than just a little cloudy for the first few moments after you had stirred somewhat awake and when you were trying to get a hold of the situation you currently were. Unfortunately, when your mind was starting to finally work with a little faster pace, you soon found out that it would have been a great thing to just stay unconscious and unfeeling for a while longer, because all of the aches and pains you had felt earlier came rushing back to you with a greater force.

Even if you weren't moving an inch, you still felt how the pain pulsed all over your body; you felt how something hard and uncomfortable was digging into your skin through your clothes, the feeling was concentrated mostly onto your backside; the entirety of your right side throbbed with every heartbeat, and you were sure some of your ribs were more than just bruised, or then again, the bruise could have always been just that damn massive; there was a feeling of heat inside your artificial limbs which was more than a little concerning, and the junctions on your leg and arm where the flesh met metal felt like someone was stabbing them with a dull blade and _that_ was never a nice feeling. And like a twisted cherry on top of a hideous cake, your head felt like it had taken a hit or two from Thor's hammer, if the thudding headache was any kind of an indicator.

You let out a low moan of pain when you tried to move your body and the ache had suddenly intensified, and it felt like you were being wrapped inside a very tight, very _uncomfortable_ blanket. After a moment of heavy breathing, you became painfully aware of how shallow and ragged it sounded, and you tried to will yourself to breathe with a slower and calmer pace. And when you no longer couldn't hear how your blood coursed inside your skull like the freaking Atlantic, you managed to flutter open your heavy eyelids.

At first, you couldn't see anything but darkness, and the discovery made your heart skip a beat or two. You darted your eyes around frantically and let out a heavy breath when you finally noticed two narrow streams of light shining in front of you, and you realized that you were still wearing your helmet, accompanied with the rest of your suit. A wave of relief washed over you when you had aimed your gaze to stare through the eye openings, and when the clear, blue sky finally came to your vision. You closed your eyes, and, despite the great pain you were in, felt serenity seep into your mind.

You had made it back, _alive_.

 

”– not finished yet.”

You opened your eyes at the sound of someone's voice, the person couldn't be very far from you, but you still couldn't recognize as to who it was who was currently talking. There was a brief pause before another voice said, asking:  
”But then, shawarma after?”

You blinked wearily and tried to piece together the voices and their meanings when a third voice commented:  
”I have absolutely no idea about what this shawarma is, either, but Stark – Tony, Thor and I came across a rather urgent matter while you were, uh, _out_ , and we really don't know what to do now.”

 _”Thank the heavens, he's alive too...”_ you let out a heavy sigh upon realizing that one of the voices belonged to Tony, and you felt so relieved that he, too, had survived alive from your impromptu trip into the deep space.

A sound of metal scraping against concrete resounded and a tired, slightly annoyed, groan followed. You tried to move your body again, realizing that you were laying on the ground because you could see the sky above you, but halted still when the pain intensified suddenly. You gasped in pain and quickly decided that it might be a good thing to just lay unmoving for a while.

”Okay, right, if someone could lend me a hand here, Jarvis seems to be out of the picture for some reasons, and I can't –” Tony spoke and you heard footsteps and a surprised yelp sounding shortly afterwards.

”Yeah, okay, that did the trick, thanks Thor. Now, where's this ´urgent matter´ you were speaking of, Cap... Um, what the...” you heard Tony asking, but before anyone got to answer to him, he had, apparently, already identified the ´urgent matter´ by himself. There was suddenly a sound of rapid footsteps (some of them sounded heavier than others) approaching you from not too far from your right.

You heard Tony's frantic, scared sounding muttering coming closer to you, and it was accompanied with two other voices overlapping and trying to explain about what, exactly, had happened:  
”Please don't be dead, please don't be –”

”The light of your companion was gone when I caught him from the freefall, Man of Iron.”

” – uh, wait, what? Thor, what do you mean –”

”And I tried to take the helmet off when they landed, but I didn't know how it is supposed to come off –”

”Jesus, uh, her helmet is only slightly different than mine, the switches and buttons which will unlock the mechanism that keeps the helmet closed are located onto the surface, but they are kind of hard to notice if you don't know _what_ and _where_ to search. But, oh god, please, you _have to_ be alive Kira, Pepper's gonna maim me otherwise and that's not funny at all –”

A loud, metallic clank sounded from your right when something heavy (a.k.a Tony in his suit) touched the ground. You tried to tilt your head in order to look towards his direction, but found out that you couldn't turn your head properly because of your non-functioning helmet. Two lighter sounding pair of feet soon found their way to stand on your left side while a third, very heavy set of feet stopped to stand a couple of feet away from your little group.

”– or maybe she would sell all of my quality Brazilian coffee stocks with low price and replace them all with Starbucks, which is even worse than her trying to maim me –” Tony continued his rambling and you heard how he tapped at your helmet with a gloved hand, making the insides of your helmet resonate with the sound.

”Wait, Tony, did you just say ´her´?” the Captain asked, sounding confused, but Tony's ignored his question and tapped at your helmet again with a loud:  
”Can you hear me, kid?”

You groaned and frowned because the loud echo was resonating inside the helmet, making your head throb even more, and you wheezed out:  
”Quit poking at my helmet, Tony, I can hear you just fine!”

 

There was a beat of silence and then someone let out a relieved laugh:  
”Thank god, I thought I had lost you!”

Before you or anyone else got to say anything, Tony started rambling about how relieved he was that you were alive and how he could keep his precious coffee bean stocks in his hold, and as he was talking a mile a minute, you felt and then heard how he started to push down and slide the buttons and switches of your helmet.

”I do understand that you are happy about your friend being alive, Tony, but could you please explain the situation to us others?” the Captain spoke just when you heard how the mechanism keeping the helmet closed and attached to the rest of the suit whirred and clicked.

”Well... uh, it is kind of a long story, really, and I would prefer if we could talk about it somewhere more private than a nearly destroyed street in the heart of Manhattan, okay?” Tony said, sounding uneasy.

”Alright, I guess.” the Captain agreed after a short pause and you heard how Tony let out a relieved sigh.

”Good, okay, because, well, I uh, I have a sense that this isn't going to be something that can be explained easily anyways.” Tony said, and right in that moment, you heard a click when the final lock opened, followed by a strange sensation when the helmet was being slid off from around your head, very gently though, and you needed to close your eyes against the sudden brightness of the day.


	25. The reassembly begins

After inhaling a lungful of fresh air, you opened your eyes slowly, your still slightly hazy gaze searching before landing onto the person currently kneeling by your right side.

”Tony.” you said and granted him a tired smile. Tony let out a relieved-sounding chuckle before he replied:  
”Good to see you, K.”

Your smile widened and you turned your head, carefully, in order to look at your left where Thor and Steve were standing silently, the two of them apparently feeling too confused about the whole situation.

”Hey guys.” you said to them with a tired grin and _that_ seemed to finally break through their stupor;

”Lady Sully! Thou have returned from the eternal halls of Valhalla!” Thor's voice was so loud that it managed to startle you a little. The God of Thunder smiled broadly towards you, his whole persona literally radiating with joy.

”How is this even possible?” Steve wondered and looked between you and Tony. You and Tony then exchanged glances before he said:  
”Well, I would guess my dear sister here is a little bit more extraordinary than your average ´civilian´ is, Captain.”

It looked like Steve would have wanted to question the two of you a bit further, but you interrupted his line of thoughts before he even had the chance to open his mouth, aiming your attention back to Tony:  
”Tony, could you lend me a hand here please? I would _really_ like to get up on my feet, there's something inside this suit that is digging into my skin quite uncomfortably.”

You looked up at Tony, and he gave you a worried look before heaving himself up from the ground first.

”Yeah, okay. How are you otherwise feeling?” Tony asked and lowered himself in order to prop his right hand towards you so that you didn't have to try and stretch your own hand towards him that much. You sighed tiredly and reached to grab his hand with your own right one, feeling relieved that your mobility had started to return, and you answered (more or less) honestly:  
”Feeling like I could sleep a whole week straight if there would be a chance to do so.”

Tony hummed at that and hauled you upwards and onto your feet, and you had to quickly close your eyes against the sudden feel of vertigo. The aching all over your body only intensified now that you were standing, and you gritted your teeth together while taking as deep breaths as you could muster in your current condition. There was an unpleasant feeling located into the junction of your left thigh where your flesh met and turned into metal, and the sudden discovery of it all send off a wave of dread throughout your mind and body. The leg prosthesis wasn't more than a week old, and it started to become apparent that it might have to be changed again, to your great dismay. Your right arm felt only a fragment better than your leg did, and you prayed in your head that it would not be needing more work than the occasional usage of the mixture of sewing machine oil and WD-40.

”I know what you mean, K.” Tony said and pat your free shoulder with his gloved right hand while holding onto your other shoulder with his left one.

”I think we all know the feeling.” Steve said after looking around himself. He and Thor didn't feel and look all that dashing either, and Tony would have looked almost comical wearing his suit if the situation would have been a little bit lighter. The only one of your group who looked like he could carry on a while longer, was the big, green man who was currently standing, crouched, in the background no more than twelve feet from you and the others. It was like he was keeping an eye for what was happening between the four of you by the way he was eyeing you all. You looked at him and felt how a small smile made its way onto your lips, and something resembling a smile flashed over his face too.

 

After a moment, Tony let go of your shoulder, seeing that you weren't going to pass out anymore (at least he hoped so), and he crouched down in order to pick up your helmet before handing it back to you. You held it in between your slightly shaking hands, and after taking a sweeping look around yourself, you asked:  
”So, what's the next move from here, guys?”

Everyone looked at each others before Steve said:  
”Well, I'd say we should regroup as soon as possible, meaning that someone probably has to go and retrieve our archer back from, well, I don't actually _know_ where he is at currently –”

”Hey guys! In case you were wondering, I'm feeling _just peachy_ and am currently making my way back from this, I dunno, office building of sorts?” a tired voice of a man interrupted the Captain via your shared comm. line, and Tony said, sounding slightly amused:  
”Ah! There's our Hawkguy!”

”It's Hawk _eye_ , Tin Man!” the archer answer tiredly and without any actual heat in his words, and before Tony get to come up with a payback, the Captain asked:  
”Barton, what can you see from your current location?”

”Well, I can see a portion of Stark's tower from where I am standing right now, it's actually not that difficult 'cause it seems like this whole freaking building is made of glass.” the archer answered, and Tony hummed, saying:  
”He's probably in the Baxter building, then.”

”Right, well, are you able to exit the building by your own, agent Barton, or –” Steve asked, but was interrupted by a new voice sounding through the open line:  
”Give him five to ten minutes and he'll be on the ground with you guys by himself. Well, that is, if he hasn't gone and decided to use the ventilation system like he did back in Budapest.”

The speaker was the redhead from the Helicarrier, Natasha, and before any of you get to say anything at all, the archer spoke:  
”Well, uh, I _thought_ it was a good idea at the time, Nat!”

”Okay, so, agent Barton will meet us down here as soon as possible, and agent Romanoff will be meeting all of us inside the tower. Deal?” Steve cut into the conversation and received two affirmatives from the agents before the line went silent again.

”I kind of want to know what happened in Budapest...” Tony mused to himself and you were one hundred percent sure that he would either dig the information out from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files or pester the agents until one of them would eventually tell him, or, in his case, threaten to tell Pepper that he was bugging them relentlessly, the things ultimately leading to there where Pepper _would_ sell the coffee beans and forbid Tony to buy new ones for a month or so.

”Now that that issue is settled, I'd like to know if there's a public elevator that could be used in order to get to the upper floors of your tower, Tony?” Steve asked and Tony shrugged, the motion falling almost unnoticeable because of the suit:  
”Yeah, well, I actually don't have that kind of an elevator installed, but Jarvis will give you an access to use the private lift.”

The Captain nodded gratefully just as Thor started to speak for himself:  
”Friend Stark, may I use the bridge next to the balcony as my landing platform?”

”Well, for as long as you won't burn any marks onto it, then it's alright to me.” Tony answered and continued after he had taken a look of the giant green man:  
”By the way, any ideas as to how we're gonna get our jolly green giant into the tower?”

 

Tony looked around himself after the question and received a thoughtful expression from Thor and a slightly shocked/concerned look from Steve. You, on the other hand, were worrying your bottom lip between your front teeth in concentration.

”Well, I think he could use the cargo lift located near the southern exit of the underground garage.” you said thoughtfully after a couple of silent seconds had passed between you all. Tony nodded, saying:  
”That'll work. Now, we only need someone who would escort him there and possibly accompany –”

”I can do both, Tony.” you said and earned a surprised (and worried, even) looks from the genius and the other two men.

”Uh, are you sure, Sully?” Tony asked, concern laced into the question and the ”I-don't-want-you-to-get-hurt-if-something-goes-wrong” ringing through his words not-so-subtly. You looked at the Hulk briefly before looking back to Tony.

”Yeah, sure I am. Besides, I have a hunch that he actually _remembers_ who I am and knows that I'm not a threat to him.” you said and silently wished that you could remove your uncomfortable suit sometime soon in order to inspect and treat your injuries accordingly. Tony looked between you and the giant and let out a sigh, saying:  
”Okay, but contact me and or Jarvis if you feel like you can't handle the situation.”

”I promise to do so, Tony.” you said and proceeded to take a couple of steps towards the Hulk, everyone's eyes nailed onto your back the entire time. The giant followed your approaching with a steady gaze, and he shifted his stance a fraction when you stopped in front of him.

”So, you wanna follow me into the Tower, big guy? I have a bag of blueberries there if you'd still like to have some?” you talked to the Hulk, giving him a smile while trying your hardest not to show how much in discomfort and pain you currently were. The Hulk let out a low rumble before he nodded, and you heard how someone took a surprised inhale behind you before saying:  
” _Seriously?_ ”

”Isn't she just the greatest?” Tony said with a tone that suspiciously resembled affection, and you rolled your eyes at him whilst not bothering to turn around and actually face him.

”Well, shall we go?” you said to the green giant before turning slightly towards the Tower so that you could still watch if he was going to follow you. The Hulk grunted lowly before taking a step forward and towards you, ultimately starting to follow your lead. And, despite all of your pains and aches, you still found yourself grinning from ear to ear as you two made your way towards the Tower.


	26. Welcome home

After you and the green giant had passed the so called halfway mark (i.e. a sandwich truck with a large chunk of concrete squishing it down onto the sidewalk) on your way to the nearby Tower, a quiet sound resounding from somewhere near you started to gain more and more of your attention. You started to wonder in your mind as to what was causing such a weird sound, and you had grown slightly more concerned when you had looked around yourself in hopes to locate the actual source of the sound. The streets around the two of you were all desolated, and you thought that the burnt cars and smoking piles of rubble couldn't possibly produce sounds like that in a first place, or could they? You soon realized that you couldn't really be sure about, well, _anything_ , anymore.

Apparently, you weren't the only one who had noticed the sound, since your companion took a look around himself too before furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. His actions went completely unnoticed by you when the two of you rounded past a fairly large chunk of wreckage before you could finally see the Tower and the underground exit-sign looming ahead.

”Oh sweet, look buddy, we're almost there...” you breathed out a sigh of relief while pointing a hand towards the large rectangle-shaped opening, feeling how a wave of tiredness cascaded over your mind and body now that you were so close to your home. Your green friend let out a low, acknowledging (at least, you thought so) rumble from your right hand side, and you were one hundred percent sure that he, too, started to feel the strain of the day in his massive body. You cringed mentally about the way how _Bruce_ might be feeling after he had transformed back from being the slightly angrier version of Shrek, you know, for _two times_ in a row.

As you two stepped closer to the large entrance and the slight slope that led inside the building, you became instantly aware of the way how the red and yellow emergency lights were blinking on the ceilings and the walls, and you let out a tired sigh when you stepped through the (surprisingly mildly) battered threshold. You stopped after taking another step into the garage before you gestured silently that your friend should stop too, which he did instantly. You could almost feel how his entire posture tensed whilst standing silently a couple of steps behind you, undoubtedly ready to battle against any hostile forces that might be lurking behind the concrete columns if the situation turned that way.

”Jarvis, you there?” you asked quietly while eyeing at your surroundings carefully, feeling more than just a little wary about the whole situation.

”Always for you, miss.” the British voice answered instantly and continued right after you had let out a relieved sigh:  
”I must say that it is truly heart warming to see you again, miss. Welcome home.”

You nibbled at your now slightly trembling bottom lip as you nodded absently at the ever caring A.I.'s words, and you had to clear your throat and blink away the prickling feeling before you replied:  
”Yeah, it's – it's nice to be back, Jarvis, thank you.”

Feeling relieved about the fact that Jarvis was okay, you were more inclined to step further into the large space that didn't look all that suspicious anymore. However, after a couple of steps, you stopped and turned to look back when you realized that your companion hadn't moved from his place at the entrance. But although he didn't look particularly angry, he did look both suspicious and curious while his gaze wandered over the area. A thought popped into your head and you cursed your more-than-probable concussion about the way how your mind was working so unbearable slowly right now.

”Jarvis, is there a reason why the emergency lights are flashing down here like it's some sort of a freaking rave party that _some people_ organized back in the nineties?” you asked, looking around the place before your eyes landed onto a closed elevator door not far to your left. Hulk's attention darted onto you the instant you had started to speak, and it darted away from you just as quickly when Jarvis started speaking:  
”There are no imminent threats on sight at the level where you and your companion currently are, miss, but due to the fact that our security system has been breached a couple of hours earlier, the safety protocol has been activated throughout the tower.”

”Okay, so, there's nothing to worry about here, right?” you asked and Jarvis answered:  
”That is correct, miss.”

”Good.” you said quietly and turned to look at the green giant.

”Okay, uh, so apparently there's nothing to worry about here, Hulk, you can calm down now.” you said while the green giant took a long, sweeping glance around the garage before giving you a quick nod and a huff of acknowledgment. You nodded slightly too before you started to walk towards the cargo lift, and this time the giant started to follow you.

”By the way, J, are the elevators functioning properly?” you asked, taking in notion the way how the flashing and blinking lights started to dim one by one as you proceeded towards the elevators.

”They are running as smoothly as ever, miss.” came Jarvis' answer just as you two had reached your destination.

”Sweet.” you said at the same time when the sliding doors of the elevator opened (thanks to Jarvis) so that you two could step into the cart. You stepped inside first and turned to look at the nearly eight feet tall green creature, who now eyed at the larger-than-normal cart of the elevator warily. You let out a sigh before you moved yourself in order to lean your back against the back wall of the cart.

”You will not be subjected into any kind of danger if you step in here, there's not even the crappy generic elevator-music playing in the background if you're worried about that too.” you said and smiled when your companion snorted before stepping (with a surprising amount of grace) into the cart. The doors closed automatically after Hulk had settled in, and he glanced at you from his place of the cart. You offered him an easy smile before you said to Jarvis:  
”Would you be a darling and give us a lift to the penthouse, Jarvis?”

”Certainly, miss, but I must warn you that there is an intruder on that floor who appears to be unconscious at the moment. I have already notified sir about the current situation and he should arrive at the scene as soon as it is possible.” Jarvis informed you and you let out a hum before asking:  
”Yeah, I kind of were aware of that asshat, but uh, how did he end up unconscious in a first place?”

”I strongly believe that it is due to the fact that your green friend encountered the said intruder earlier and decided to introduce him to the penthouse floor rather... enthusiastically.” Jarvis said and you frowned a little and turned to look at the Hulk questioningly. He looked down onto you and cracked a huge grin onto his face, making your eyes go wider.

” _ **HULK SAID HELLO TO THE PUNY GOD.**_ ” the green giant rumbled out, sounding _extremely_ pleased to himself, and you blinked at him surprised.

”Wait, what? Jarvis –” you started but were interrupted by the A.I.:  
”I believe you will understand what your friend is trying to imply as soon as you have arrived to your desired destination, miss.”

There was a certain amount of approval ringing through Jarvis' voice that you couldn't help but wonder as to what, exactly, had happened earlier.

”Okay...” you murmured before silence fell between you and the green giant, and you spend the rest of the elevator trip eyeing at your appearance through the reflective surface of the closed doors. It was a bit of a shock to see your reflection, and you swallowed dryly a couple of times while you took in notion of your more-than-slightly battered armor, and you sucked your lower lip in between your front teeth at the sight of your head; the bump on your forehead had begun to produce a rather impressive shade of purple on itself, and the scratch over it had reopened at some point during the battle and the now dried smudge of blood glued a strand of your hair against your skin, nearly reaching your right eye at the same time. And speaking of your hair; if it was not coated in blood and being glued onto your skin, it was sticking out in every single direction imaginable to a human being, electing a long sigh out of you just as the elevator slowed its pace before stopping completely.

”You have now reached the penthouse level, Ms. Sully, Mr. Hulk.” Jarvis announced and you pushed yourself from your leaning position in order to stand more properly. You looked up at Hulk, whose attention was directed towards you again, and said with a small smile playing on your lips:  
”Welcome to my home, green bean.”


	27. It's showtime, so let's strike a pose, everyone!

A soft _ding_ sounded when the elevator doors opened, revealing a spacious hallway for the two of you. You were the first one to step out of the cart, and when you turned to look back, you saw how your green friend was taking a sweeping glance over your smaller form with attentive eyes.

”So... yeah, here we are buddy; think you could, y'know, step outside so that we could go and say hello to Loki together?” you talked whilst taking a small, shuffling step towards the other end of the hallway where the penthouse lounge was located, assuming that the demigod would most likely be found from there. Without further prompting, the green giant grunted and stepped out of the lift before the doors swished closed with a quiet _hiss_. A decorative panel emerged slowly from behind a wall to shield the gleaming metal doors of the cargo lift, and once it was in place, the entrance to the (nowadays rarely used) elevator was undetectable.

”Alrighty then.” you said quietly before you started to lead the way, staying a couple of steps ahead of the giant so to give him some (presumably much needed) space. You two had managed to take only a couple of steps towards the lounge, when (to your horror) you suddenly heard the weird, slightly screeching, sound echo in the otherwise empty hallway.

 _”What on earth...?”_ you thought to yourself nervously whilst taking another couple of steps forwards, and every time your left foot connected with the floor, the eerie sound resounded, and it was then when you realized something quite worrying:

All this time, when you had thought that the sound was coming from the wreckage scattered all around the city, the damned sound was coming from _you_ instead.

And, by the looks (and sounds) of it (and probably because the universe seemed to love you _so much_ ), your left leg seemed to be the actual source of the sound, and wasn't that _just so nice?_

 

”Excuse me, Ms. Sully?” Jarvis inquired your attention after a few silent moments had passed by. 

”Yeah?” you responded without slowing down, your voice shaking slightly with barely contained nervousness and worry.

”I would like to suggest you to seek out medical attention as soon as it is most convenient for you, miss; I have taken the liberty to run a health scan on you, and the results are indicating that your health levels have decreased partially during the time you have been away.” Jarvis informed you, a hint of concern within his voice, and you let out a sigh that made your shoulders drop a fraction under your suit.

”Yeah, I'll do so as soon as this whole thing is over, Jarvis.” you promised to the ever-caring A.I..

”Thank you, Ms. Sully. I may also suggest you to ask sir's assistance regarding the current status of your prostheses as well as the removal of your suit.” Jarvis added just as you two passed by the open doorway of the large, contemporary kitchen.

”Right, I'm so _not_ looking forward of it at all... ” you muttered quietly to yourself before you fell silent again as you and your green friend continued your journey, the screeching sound mixing with the metallic clanking of your boots when they connected with the hardwood floor, the steady stomping resounding from your left hand side adding its own tune into the cacophony.

 

* * *

When you and the green giant reached the large, open doorway leading to the spacious living room of sorts, you quickly discovered that the two of you were the first ones to enter the scene. You  halted still on the doorway when the aspect of actually _confronting_ the trickster god reached your conscious mind. Your heart quickened its pace subconsciously as your wide-eyed gaze swept around the room, and just when you begin to feel how your adrenaline levels were spiking heavenwards, your eyes roamed over the embedded, semicircular sitting area on your left before they landed onto... uh... _what?_

You blinked and slowly lifted your gaze from the marbled floor couple of feet ahead of you, where the raven-haired demigod resided _laying on his back in a crater shaped just like he himself was_ in order to stare at the green man standing next to you with a blank face. Hulk's attention was directed towards the roughed-up god, and when you turned your own eyes to look back at Loki, you had to take a few deep breaths in order to calm yourself down; your sides were already throbbing in pain, no need to make them hurt more by breaking into a laughing fit.

”Jarvis, _please_ tell me there's footage regarding of what happened between our jolly green friend and the trickster god?” you asked from the A.I. when a silent moment had passed and when your eyes were averted towards the unconscious god again, some traces of your bottled up laughter still managing to make their way into your voice.

”There, indeed, is footage regarding the said event, miss; you can choose between three different camera angles if you may.” Jarvis answered smoothly, sounding like he had partly _waited_ for you to ask about such a thing.

” _Excellent work_ , Jarvis.” you said with a smile and finally stepped further inside the spacious room.

”Thank you, miss.” Jarvis responded, sounding somewhat pleased before he continued:  
”Agent Romanoff has just informed both sir and I about the subject relating to the device resting on the rooftop; Agent Romanoff and Dr. Selvig have managed to disarm the said device, and are currently heading downwards and towards your location, Ms. Sully.”

You stopped to stand at the end of the bar counter before you turned to look at the direction of the hallway, and you subconsciously pulled your (slightly dry) lower lip between your front teeth.

”Okay...” you murmured as you watched how Hulk stepped further inside the room too, and it seemed like he was keeping an eye on the still very much unconscious figure who was, uh, 'resting' in the crater.

”Sir has also instructed me to inform you that Mr. Rogers and Agent Barton are currently making their way to the penthouse; they are using the private lift for that purpose. Sir has also estimated that he will arrive onto the landing bridge within the next three minutes as he has encountered few unexpected difficulties regarding the navigation system of his latest suit; it appears that the front part of sir's helmet has gone missing, meaning that he has to fly the suit without the aid of the HUD.” Jarvis finished listing the current whereabouts of the team, and just when you were about to ask where the mighty thunder god was, a loud crack of lightning sounded from outside the glass walls, making you flinch at the sudden noise. Hulk grumbled loudly and seemed to slouch into a some sort of a battle stance as he stood near the embedded sitting area, his entire posture radiating with annoyance towards the sudden, loud noise.

”And it appears that Mr. Odinson has just arrived to the landing bridge, miss.”

You could have sworn that there was an audible sigh within Jarvis' voice when he informed you about Thor's grand arrival, but just when you were about to voice your response to the A.I., you suddenly heard two voices resound from the hallway, making you to forgot what you were about to say:  
”Any chances there's a coffee machine located somewhere in this tower?”

”Well, I'm pretty sure Stark has installed one in every room possible, doctor.”

”Yeah?”

”Yeah, and I have a feeling you could find the nearest one from the room on your right, doc.”

”Oh, this is a _kitchen_ , isn't it? I mean, this room _has_ to be bigger than my entire apartment is...”

”Mm. Anyway, Dr. Selvig, I'm gonna leave you here for a bit; there's a couple of things our team has to do before we can call it a day.”

”Right, right... I'll wait here then, agent Romanoff.”

 

The two voices fell silent after that, and you let out a quiet sigh while looking towards the doorway. A sound of a door being opened and closed sounded from behind you, making you to avert your attention towards the source of the said sound. You felt a corner of your mouth quirk upwards a fraction when your eyes landed onto the blond demigod.

”Ah, Lady Sully!” Thor said, looking, and even sounding, slightly surprised as he stepped further inside the lounge.

”Yeah, hi Thor.” you greeted and watched how he used the short stairs in order to get onto the same level as you and Hulk currently were. Thor gave you a small nod before he stopped to stand a respectable distance away from you. Silence fell between you three (well, four if you count Loki in) as you all were keeping an eye on the person laying on the floor a couple of feet away, but the quietness was interrupted when an amused voice from the doorway said:  
”Does anyone have a camera nearby? I would really like to have a picture of this hanging on a wall of my S.H.I.E.L.D. issued cubicle.”

You all turned to look at the redhead who stood on the doorway looking amused while holding Loki's scepter in her hands. She had managed to walk to the lounge all the way from the kitchen without making a sound, and the fact that she was capable of doing something like that, made you feel a little bit nervous. Sure it was cool as hell, but still...

Once again, when you were about to say something, you were interrupted, but this time you didn't mind it the slightest:  
”Jarvis, make a photo collage for agent Romanoff as well as myself, Sully, Point Break, Capsicle, Legolas and, well, screw it; send prints to every single agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as the Director while you're at it, I'm sure they'll find the collage as hilarious as I do.”

Your head turned to look at the landing bridge so fast that the action caused your headache to worsen a fraction. Tony was in the process of lowering himself onto the landing bridge, but since he was already so close to the Tower, Jarvis had been able to pick up his voice and send it through the speakers of the lounge. And as the genius touched down onto the bridge (looking more than just a little wind-tousled), a slightly louder than usual _ding_ sounded from the direction of the private elevator, and when Tony started to walk towards the glass door, sounds of footfalls started to resound from the hallway.

After Tony had clanked his way down to your level (he was still wearing his suit as in safety precaution), and after he came across the current condition of one demigod with his own two eyes, the expression dawning over Tony's face made you smile from ear to ear. Before the genius had a chance to say anything regarding the demigod's current state, you quickly filled him in with the information Jarvis had told you earlier:  
”Tony, Jarvis managed to capture the whole shebang in film; there's at least three different camera angles to choose from.”

Tony's grin only widened after hearing that, and a quick look towards Natasha revealed you that she was feeling pleased as well. Thor had a thoughtful expression on his face, as if he wasn't completely sure he wanted to see what had happened to his (adopted) brother for him to end up in such a state, but the way he tried to fight against a smile told you that he was, indeed, feeling curious towards the aforementioned footage. And what comes to your green friend, well, his grin was definitely the largest one of among you all.

”Oh, look, I told you, Cap! We're the last ones to arrive here!”

A (whiny) voice commented from the doorway, making everyone's attention to turn towards the two arrivals. Steve was trying his best to support his fellow teammate while the other had his left arm wrapped around the taller man's shoulder.

”Yeah, well, if you would have just let me to carry you –” Steve said as they started to make their way towards you all, but was quickly interrupted by Clint:  
”Oh, hell no! Do I look like a damsel in distress to you?!”

Before Steve managed to voice his thoughts regarding the subject, it was Thor who voiced his thoughts regarding a slightly more urgent matter:  
”Fellow warriors! We may discuss about that subject during our grand feast later on, but at the present time, I think, we have more pressing matters to be taken care of.”

The god of thunder gestured towards his unconscious brother, efficiently silencing the whole room as everyone's attention was now directed towards the crater. The atmosphere inside the room was now more serious than it had been a moment ago.

 

It was the time to put an end to Loki's madness for once and for all.


	28. The grand prelude to the shawarma chronicles

It was almost surprising how fast everyone had managed to gather around the crater after Thor had finished talking about the actual reason why you all needed to be in the lounge room. Steve and Clint were the last ones to find their places from the small, circular row that you and the rest of the team had formed, given that the archer was still clinging onto the taller man for support.

You lifted your gaze from the raven haired god in order to take a look around the team. Tony had removed what was left of his helmet and had situated himself near the short stairs, your giant green friend was (kind of) keeping watch behind Tony and Steve, who had just gotten himself situated between the genius and the thunder god after he had let go of the team's archer. Clint had found a place from in front of Steve and Thor, and was now in the process of extracting his bow from the holster of his back. Natasha, who had the stick of destiny/the scepter in her hands, was standing next to Thor, and you had planted yourself at her left side, meaning that you were nearly face to face with Tony.

”Clint, you _do_ remember that you're not allowed to use any of your type-4 arrowheads indoors anymore, right? I've heard that the tech guys from Boston's quarters _still_ haven't found the missing arm of the dummy you ´disarmed´ three weeks ago.”

The archer stilled the hand that was reaching towards the quiver of his back just as everyone collectively turned to look at the redheaded assassin. She was looking at her partner's back with an almost amused expression showing off from her face, and a corner of her mouth quirked slightly upwards when a faint blush appeared on the tips of Clint's ears.

”Uh, right.” Clint murmured and moved his hand in order to grasp his fingers around the second (and, hopefully, explosive-free) arrow. Then he quickly nocked the arrow to the bowstring and kept the tip pointed towards the marbled floor for the time being.

The silence returned once again after that as everyone waited for the trickster god to stir awake from his current state, though no-one didn't look like they felt the need to go and wake him up (for some reasons) anytime soon.

 

After when a couple of moments had passed, and when pretty much everyone had started to feel more and more restless, a very low, pained-sounding wheeze drifted upwards from the crater in front of the Earth's mightiest heroes. Everyone's attention snapped straight onto the person laying in the crater whereas Clint crouched down faster than one could say ´Jack Robinson´, the tip of the arrow pointed straight onto Loki's right eye. It looked like the archer wasn't even blinking when he stared at his target with his sharp, hawk like eyes.

 _”No wonder he's called Hawkeye.”_ you thought to yourself, feeling both impressed and slightly intimidated when your gaze drifted from the archer to look back at the roughed up god.

No-one said a word when Loki's eyes fluttered open, and it was like he wasn't even aware there were others in the same room with him when an unmuffled groan escaped him right after he had tried to slightly move his body into a better position. Some of your fears and nervousness deflated a little when it started to become more and more clear to you just _how_ thoroughly your giant green friend had uh, _greeted_ the trickster god when the two of them had met for the first time.

Your inner musings were interrupted when Loki had, apparently, managed to gather enough willpower in order to start moving his, undoubtedly sore body a little bit more. Everyone straightened their stances as the trickster started a painful-looking ascend up and out of the crater.

Loki had almost made it to the second step of the stair when a sound of someone clearing their throat broke the silence of the room. Loki's visible flinch in response to the sound gave you a certain kind of satisfaction, and you had to quickly school the smirk away from your face when the god turned to look behind himself. His eyes went wide as he finally realized he wasn't as alone as he had originally thought he was. The surprised expression turned into a defeated one in a blink of an eye when Loki's eyes focused onto the archer and, more importantly, onto the arrow that was being pointed straight towards one of his eyes.

The defeated god opened and closed his mouth before he seemed to find his voice:  
”If it’s all the same to you, I’ll have that drink now.”

And if none of you had irritated/murderous expressions on your faces _before_...

 

* * *

 

In the end, Thor had been the fastest to step forwards from his place, and now he was holding Loki up by the front of his green jacket with one hand as the other one was wrapped tightly around his mighty hammer.

”Thor – ” Loki managed to squeak as he was dangling high up in the air, his slender fingers trying to grasp around Thor's larger hands in an attempt to free himself, but his oncoming pleading was silenced as Thor boomed out:  
”Silence! You will not found a single soul from these great halls who might want to hear your treacherous words, Loki!”

Several agreeing hums and mutters sounded from around the two gods at that.

”You and I will be returning back to Asgard posthaste –” Thor started, but was interrupted by Tony:  
”Oh, so, you're not gonna stay for dinner?”

Thor turned his head in order to look at Tony, and he seemed to be considering it for a heartbeat before he turned his attention back to Loki:  
”We shall be returning back to Asgard after I and my valiant friends have dined together.”

There was a triumphant grin on Tony's face when you turned your eyes to look at him briefly before you averted your attention back to the two gods. Thor was finally lowering his (adopted) brother down onto his own feet while still keeping his grip on Loki's jacket rock solid.

”Alright, then.” this time, it was Steve who was talking, and when everyone turned to look at him, he continued:  
”Now that it is pretty obvious that Loki has been contained – thank you, Thor – could we, perhaps, move along with the game plan?”

 _”Oh thank god, **finally**.”_ you thought relieved. The suit had started to feel more and more constricting and heavy as the time went by, and you _really_ wanted to shed it off sometime soon.

”Yeah, what do you have in mind?” Clint asked from Steve as he lowered his bow from its strung up state. Steve eyed at Loki briefly before saying:  
”Well, I think we should find a place where we can safely store Loki, or else we have to take him to the diner with us.”

”Hell no we're dragging him along!” Clint objected instantly, but before he, or anyone else could express their feelings regarding the issue, Tony voiced his suggestion:  
”Can't we just shovel Reindeer Games into a broom closet and, I dunno, drop Thor's hammer on top of him or something?”

 

There were little to no objections against Tony's idea, and after a quick explanation as to what, _exactly_ , is a broom closet (apparently there are none existing in Asgard), even Thor warmed up to the genius' plan. In matter of fact, the thunder god managed to surprise everyone by asking as to where he could find the nearest one so that they all could move along with the master plan.


	29. Battle-weary heroes (we're all in pain, honestly)

The rest of you watched how Tony stepped through the doorway in his quest to show Thor where the nearest possible broom closet was located. The blond demigod was hauling his brother behind him in a very, uh, _brotherly_ fashion, if one could call it like that. When Tony and the two gods had disappeared from your sight, and when you no longer couldn't hear Tony's version of casual small talk, a comfortable silence fell into the lounge room.

The quietness didn't last long, however, when a sound of someone clearing their throat managed to bring your thoughts back from where they had managed to wander. You blinked, realizing you had been staring at the doorway for god knows how long without blinking your eyes, and turned to look at the person who had, apparently, tried to gain someone's attention.

”So, uh, excuse me, ma'am?”

It was the team's very own Captain who had wanted to avert _your_ attention towards himself, if the way he was looking at you from where he stood told you anything.

”Uh, yeah?” you responded whilst trying to at least _look_ more alert when you weren't exactly feeling like that in a first place. Steve's line of thought was interrupted by a (loud) mutter coming from the archer when he had tried (and failed, apparently) to move towards the embedded sitting area without anyone's help:  
” _God damn_ this ankle... _Jesus_...”

Natasha then appeared next to Clint from seemingly out of nowhere, making you question your mind more than you already did, and by taking a firm hold of the archer's left arm, the redhead let out a sigh and a string of Russian whilst they started to shuffle towards the sitting area.

 

A loud thud sounding from your right side made you to whip your head towards the cause subconsciously, making you see white spots before your rapidly blinking eyes focused onto the giant green man, who was actually just sitting on the floor doing absolutely nothing else than eyeing at his surroundings with mild interest. Apparently, the angry Shrek of the team had deemed the current situation mellow enough for him to loosen up his battle stance for the time being.

You thought that you would have to start to categorize these kinds of things under the name of ´bizarre and unexpected occurrences that doesn't make any sense whatsoever´ pretty soon in order to get a some sort of a hold of the things that had started to float in your head aimlessly–

”–restrooms are located, Ms. Stark?”

Your attention snapped back to the Captain before your thoughts could have slipped deeper into the rabbit hole from the highly interesting musing over the fact how _confusingly_ durable the material seemed to be in one certain green man's pants–

”Ah, sorry! Could you please repeat yourself, I'm afraid I didn't catch you the first time?” you cursed heavily inside your mind as you tried to put your thoughts into a correct order so that you could _at least_ feel more normal.

”Uh, okay, so, I'd like to know where I can find a restroom, I kind of want to remove at least some of this, uh, _alien_ , blood out of my uniform before we go dining.” Steve asked and this time, you actually managed to listen him till the end. You nodded minutely and turned to point your right arm towards the doorway and the hallway behind it:  
”Yeah, okay, the closest one is on the left hand side when you go to the hallway, it comes right after the kitchen area.”

Steve gave you a grateful smile and a thank you before he started to make his way towards the doorway, and just before he stepped to the hallway, you discovered that someone else was in need of your assistance too:  
”Hey, uh, Ms. I-kind-of-don't-know-your-name-sorry!” 

You turned to look towards the sitting area, where the team's archer was kind of waving a hand at you in an attempt to gain your attention faster. Natasha, who was trying to loosen off the boot from Clint's injured foot while sitting next to the man on a sofa, rolled her eyes at her partner's (antics) behavior. Loki's scepter had been placed onto the small coffee table near the seat where the redheaded assassin was sitting, and there was no doubt that she wasn't paying as much attention towards the object than she was paying towards her injured partner.

”It's Sully, Sully Stark.” you answered and waited if the archer was going to continue, and sure enough:  
”Right, okay. Um, so, as it seems –and feels like it, dammit– my ankle's been busted and walking with this sad excuse of a leg makes me feel like I'm walking on glass shards. So, in conclusion, I would appreciate it greatly if there's at least some sort of medical tape laying on here somewhere so that I could wrap it around my leg and carry on with my already _fantastic_ day.”

You nibbled your lower lip in concentration before answering to the archer and starting to walk towards the bar area:  
”Well, Tony keeps first aid kits stocked in pretty much every room so... yeah, I'll bring you one in a minute.” 

”Sweet! Thank you so much, Ms. Stark!” the archer piped out loudly just as the redhead pulled the boot off from his feet.

”Yea, not a problem.” you responded with a bit more quieter voice, not really caring if the duo didn't hear you properly since you were trying to hold back sounds of discomfort as you made your way towards the bar. You let out a silent sigh of relief when you reached the starting end of the counter. And after stepping behind the counter, you carefully lowered yourself for a fraction before you pulled out a first aid kit from under the counter top. The suit creaked loudly and painfully when you lifted yourself into a standing position again, and you had to tame the dawning cringe of pain away from your face before it could have morphed into a full blown expression of agony.

 

You inhaled as deeply as you could before you turned around and opened the door of the small, stainless steel fridge, and by taking a couple of bottles of water out of the cooling appliance before pushing the door closed, you begin the (fairly exhausting and intimidating) journey down to the sitting area.

”Here you go, I'm not sure what's in this particular kit, but I hope that at least some of the things in it might be useful.” you said and propped the rectangular box towards the redheaded assassin after you had managed to reach the sofa that the agents were using.

”Thank you.” Natasha said as she took the box from your hold whilst her partner smiled gratefully to you, undoubtedly trying to mask his own discomfort while doing so. You nodded slightly and offered one of the water bottles towards the archer:  
”I thought these would be useful too.”

”Yeah, they definitely are that.” Clint said as he accepted the bottle, and you smiled a little before handing him another bottle. Natasha nodded her thanks as Clint held the other bottle for her behalf as she was busy selecting the right materials from the kit in order to create a temporary cast.

 

Sounds of footsteps topped with casual conversation resounded from the hallway and four pairs of eyes turned to look at the doorway. The clanking of shoes/boots intensified before Tony, Thor and Steve stepped back into the lounge.

”What do you all say if we all freshen up a little bit before we head into that shawarma place? There's this nice layer of dust and some other stuff coating my suit of which I kind of _don't want_ to think about too much.” Tony talked as he made his way towards the crater, and after each of you had taken a quick look of your own appearances, everyone agreed with his idea without an argument.

”So, let's all meet up here in like, half an hour?” Tony continued, receiving agreeing nods and murmurs from all around himself.

”Alrighty then.” Tony said quietly as he took a sweeping glance around himself. He took in notion of everyone's current status before his gaze zeroed onto the jolly green giant.

”Uh...” Tony uttered quietly as his brows furrowed in deep consideration, but before he, nor anyone else get to do or say anything, the green man let out a cut off sound before he suddenly grabbed at his head with his giant hands as he hunched over himself, effectively forming a giant green ball in the process. You and Tony both took a simultaneous steps towards the Hulk just when he let out a loud wail of pain before his whole body started to tremble.

” _Jesus Christ_...” someone breathed out behind you, but you paid no attention to it when the giant man collapsed onto his side and started to tremble and wail more violently than before.

”Tony, what can we do!?” you asked as you and him stopped to stand next to your green friend. You were feeling absolutely helpless as you were, apparently, witnessing the reversed transformation of the Hulk along with everyone else.

”I-I don't really know, Sully.” Tony said from next to you, he, too, looking more than just a little panicky when he turned to look at you before his eyes went back to the shrinking giant.

”There's probably nothing we can do other than to wait for now.” Steve said from somewhere near you, his voice barely registering inside your brain as your thoughts were directed solely onto the agony-ridden man laying in front of you.

 

Everyone had worried expressions on their faces as they watched helplessly how the transformation carried on, and when it was finally over, the heavy silence from before returned with full force.


	30. First aid, how does it work?

”Uh, so, should someone, y'know, play doctor and check his pulse or something?”

Tony's uncertain voice sounding next to you stirred the overall stillness of the room for only a small fragment. The doctor was laying (way, _way_ too still) on the floor in a loose fetal position, and seeing him in that kinda state did no good to your steadily growing anxiousness.

Jarvis' clear and precise (and oh, so _comforting_ ) British accent sounded from the hidden speakers before anyone had a chance to do or say anything:  
”Dr. Banner's health scan results indicates that he has fallen into a state of unconsciousness from where he should wake up within the next couple of hours. The scan also revealed that his heart rate and breathing rhythms are slowly returning back to more common levels, sir.”

More or less audible sighs echoed throughout the room at Jarvis' words, and you personally felt like a great weight had been lifted from your shoulders.

”Great thing, thanks, old bud!” Tony said, sounding immensely happy and relieved that his new friend/teammate/science bro was alive and (somewhat) well.

”Thank you, sir.” Jarvis replied before falling silent again, and you were quite certain that he went back on monitoring everyone's vital signs until the next time someone was in need of his help.

”So, okay, does anyone wanna lend a hand here?” Tony then asked as he took a sweeping glance around himself before his eyes returned back onto his unconscious teammate.

”What were you planning to do, Tony?” Steve asked the question everyone were thinking about, and the genius answered with a shrug:  
”Well, I thought about moving our doctor into someplace more comfortable than this uh, more-or-less, _smashed_ , living room. I mean, although the floor is pretty nice, I _do_ doubt its general comfyness in this particular case.”

”Oh, right.” the Captain murmured, nodding.

”I myself am capable of carrying our valiant healer –if you may lead the way– to his new resting quarters, o man of iron.” Thor said from your side and you slightly turned on your place to look at him more closely. His hair was a wild mess and he had some unidentified smudges (alien blood, perhaps? i.e. _eww!_ ) on his face as well on his battle armor, but otherwise he looked almost as good as before the alien attack.

 

Tony nodded approvingly, and the thunder god stepped next to the doctor before lowering himself onto one knee.

”Do you guys need any help or...” Steve asked from the two other men and it was Tony who replied:  
”I think we're cool here, Cap.”

At this, the Captain nodded and moved a little further away from the rest of your little group when Thor gathered the doctor in his arms with care before he straightened himself from the floor.

”Show us the way, friend Stark.” Thor said as he turned to look at Tony, careful not to jostle the other man in his arms any more than it was absolutely necessary.

”Alright, this way then; the grand guest suite is just a few floors down from here.” Tony said and turned around in order to lead the way before he spoke to the rest of you all:  
”And in the mean time, Cap, Agents, Sully; feel free to grab yourselves drinks if you haven't already done so, we'll be back in a minute.”

The others promised to do just like Tony had said with varying depths of enthusiasm, and what comes to you, well, you just murmured a quiet ”Yeah.” just when the three men stepped through the doorway.

If you were being completely honest, you just wanted the day to end so that you could _finally_ go to sleep.

 

You let out a deep sigh, trying to gather up the willpower to actually _move_ from your current spot, feeling how your sore body was pretty much revolting against every single movement you intended to make. After what felt like a lifetime, but was more like a heartbeat later, you managed to force yourself into moving, the short stairs locked firmly onto your aim.

You weren't aware of the fact that the team's Captain was also moving away from his place, but when his, uh, _patriotic_ , self appeared into your peripheral vision, your general nervousness towards new people decided to bitch-slap your hibernating consciousness awake.

Your eyes widened slightly and you turned your head in order to glance at the man, who was now walking beside you, and who actually looked like he wasn't feeling all that alert either.

Your oncoming thoughts towards the man were interrupted by a voice sounding from the sitting area:  
”There; I'm done with the cast, but you shouldn't go and jump off from things before you have shown off your leg properly in the med bay.”

 

You stopped to look back at the sitting area from the top of the stairs, noticing how Steve did the exact same thing a couple of steps behind you. The archer was now standing next to the couch, and you had to do a double take at the sight of the man's injured leg.

The redheaded agent had practically wrapped the whole ankle alongside with a half of the archer's shin in what looked like black duct tape and mangled plastic (you assumed the plastic was from the two water bottles you had brought to them earlier).

(since _when_ had the first aid kit attained a roll of duct tape within itself, and _why_ there was a pair of heavy duty pliers laying amongst the band aid rolls, desinfectant bottles and varying sizes of plasters?)

It also looked like that the redhead had somehow managed to mash her partner's boot into the highly unorthodox cast (God only knows _how_ ), making it seem that the cast and the boot were inseparable (which they more-than-likely were).

You let out a small sigh before you turned towards the end of the bar counter where your helmet sat, not really paying any mind to the two agents as they continued to talk:  
”Aww, Nat, do I really have to go there, _again_? I mean –”

”You'll go there all by yourself, Barton, or I will knock you out with Steve's shield before I strap you onto one of Stark's suits and ask him to give you a lift to the 'carrier. Either way, you _will_ end up into the med bay, so, choose carefully.”

” _Wha–? Jesus_ , calm down, Nat!”

 

You stepped through the doorway and into the hallway just when Steve commented about the general safeness regarding the second option, feeling eager to move away from everyone, even if your time alone lasted for only a short while.

”Jarvis, will you inform Tony if he wonders where I went? I-I try if I could shimmy out of this suit without help first.” you said quietly when you had shuffled a little further away from the lounge area, and the A.I. answered:  
”I will do as you said, miss.”

”Thanks, J.”

”Not a problem, miss.”

 

You could have sworn that Jarvis sounded worried when he talked to you, and that realization made your throat tighten just slightly with emotion. You took a deepish breath as you stopped to stand in front of the closed doors of the private elevator before they opened quickly and without a sound. You stepped inside and after a sluggish turn in order to face the doors, you pushed the button that would take you to the floor where your personal workshop was located.

You chewed your lower lip absentmindedly the whole time that it took from the lift to descent, and when you were finally at your desired destination, the cart stopped smoothly and the doors opened with a soft sound.

”Okay... time to figure out how the hell this thing is supposed to come off...” you muttered to yourself as you stepped out of the cart and into the short hallway that led to the heavy set of closed doors which guarded your so-called safe haven.

You grimaced at the sound that bounced off from the walls around yourself as you walked along the hallway, the screeching sound of your suit seemed to have gotten even louder now that everything else around you was silent.

With a heavy sigh, you reached the doors and with an even heavier sigh, you pushed one of them open.

You let the door close behind you as you stepped into your workshop and lowered the helmet onto the nearest empty table that you had managed to find. You took a couple of steps away from the table, your eyes searching for tools that you thought you might need in order to jimmy the suit open. 

 

”I guess I could try the good old screwdriver–” you were murmuring to yourself as you were about to reach for a screwdriver from the opposite table, when a voice from earlier suddenly putted in:

” _INITIATING THE SUIT REMOVAL PROTOCOLS IN FIVE – FOUR –_ ”

Your eyes flew wide open and you tried to protest against the voice in your head:  
”Hey, wait! I can do this myself–”

” _– THREE – TWO –_ ”

”Uh-oh.” was all you could say when you realized that each and every lock and mechanism keeping the suit together whirred alive simultaneously.

” _– ONE._ ”

It felt like the whole suit suddenly exploded off from around you, the metallic pieces fell onto the floor and scattered around your body, and the suddenness of it all, as well as the fact that your body had been supported by the very same pieces that now littered the workshop, made you to fall forward limply.

”Oh God...” you wheezed out as you curled onto your left side, feeling how your entire body was ebbing with constant pain. Black spots started to dance around the edges of your vision, and you squeezed your eyes shut while you tried to take a deep breath in order to calm your racing pulse.

 _”Well, that went well.”_ was the last thing you thought before the darkness conquered your mind, again.


	31. Phantom pains

”Ms. Sully, can you hear me?”

Jarvis' urgent voice echoed inside the otherwise quiet workshop, but he received no response whatsoever from the figure currently laying on the floor. Jarvis waited exactly ten seconds before he tried again, the concern towards the silent figure had grown too overwhelming for him to ignore (not that he would _ever_ ignore anyone who was a part of his family):  
”Ms. Sully, would you open your eyes for me?”

Again, Jarvis' request was met with silence, and he felt a sudden urge to check if there was a problem regarding the highly advanced monitoring system that he himself had created long ago in order to monitor certain individual's vital signs.

The A.I. found no bugs, viruses or other mishaps from the coding, thus he made a decision to try one last time before he was going to alert his creator about the highly concerning situation.

”Please wake up, Kira.”

The plea had managed to come out only slightly quieter than Jarvis had originally intended while still being filled to the brim with worry, so that for one anxious moment, he feared that he had become too quiet to be heard properly.

But suddenly, just when Jarvis was about to crack open the direct emergency line to his creator, a barely audible whimper sounded from there where the small figure was laying. Feeling cautiously hopeful, Jarvis tried (yet again) to rouse the person awake from her unconscious state:  
”Can you hear me, miss?”

 

*** * * * * * * * * * * * * ***

_Silence was lingering inside the room where a young woman was currently residing, alone. The bed where she was resting in half-sitting, half-laying position, was facing a windowless, off-white coloured wall (it had to be the most boring wall she had ever seen in her entire life)._

_A sigh escaped through the woman's dry lips as she thought, for what had to be the hundredth time on that particular day, that next time, when one of the nurses came to treat/check her up, she should try and remember to ask if she could stare out of the window again, like she had done yesterday. Surely they could push the bed closer to the window so that she could at least gaze at the sky, right? It sure as hell would beat the current activity she had been practicing for exactly twenty three minutes and twelve seconds (yes, she really_ was _that bored)._

_Though, there was always one option available, at least, according to her doctors and nurses, but she didn't like it all that much, for many, many reasons. One of the reasons was, that whenever she closed her eyes for too long, her own mind started to attack against her, showing her broken pictures and poorly recorded flashes of the accident that happened seventeen days and some odd hours ago._

_So, no, she wasn't going to take a nap anytime soon, at least not before her dad would have returned from his trip to the hospital's cafeteria, where he often just wolfed down a sandwich or something similar before he dashed back into the room number... uh, well, she wasn't sure what the number was, nowadays her brain just tended to forgot things that she_ should _have remembered._

_The woman sighed again before she turned her attention onto the gleaming black object that was hanging from the ceiling nearly directly opposite her bed. The TV looked like it probably weighed a ton as it was placed inside a some sort of a metal structure that resembled a cage._

_Thinking that she could always turn on the TV and numb her already quite numb head by watching pretty meaningless daytime shows and soap operas, she subconsciously (and oh, so agonizingly slowly) reached for the remote control from the bedside table where it should have been, only to find that her left hand fingers brushed against an empty space._

_Blinking confusedly, the woman turned her head to look at the table where her hand still rested, before her eyebrows furrowed in slight annoyance. Her grey eyes started to search for the rebellious device, and she soon let out a groan as she had managed to locate the missing piece of black plastic._

_Someone, probably the nurse number three (she was also horrible at remembering names, these days, and she felt bad at referring to her nurses as by numbers instead of names, but she simply couldn't keep their names inside her mind more than a couple of hours, at max, dammit!), had accidentally left the remote onto the small table that stood directly underneath the TV when she had turned it off last night._

_The woman extracted her hand from the table in order to rub her eyes with the heel of her palm. She heaved a sigh as she ran her hand trough her open hair (she made a mental note to ask if someone would braid her hair or at least, tie it up into a simple ponytail) before she started to rub the back of her neck in order to untie some of her tensed muscles. Her fingers brushed over the cotton of the thick packet of bandages that wrapped over the place where her right arm_ should have _existed._

_Suddenly, she halted completely still, and after a couple of heartbeats, she pulled her trembling hand away from the bandages before lowering it down onto the left side of her torso. She squeezed the blanket that was keeping the lower half of her body warm into her fist as she tried to take a deep breath. She shut her eyes closed as she felt how the first wave of panic attack was building up momentum inside her mind, the sound of a door being opened and closed only barely registering inside her conscious._

_Sounds of quick footfalls, followed by a concerned ”Honey?”, tried to break through the panic attack, but it was only then when someone placed their warm hand on top of the young woman's own, that her frantic mind started to respond to the outside world again._

_”Honey, would you open your beautiful eyes for me, please?”_

_The woman took a shuddering breath at this, as she recognized the voice and the plea, but the panic was still keeping itself wrapped tightly around her being._

”–would you open your eyes for me?”

_A voice she didn't recognize asked suddenly, but she didn't get a chance to respond when the first voice pleaded again:  
”Sully, honey, can you tell me where it hurts, should I alert a nurse? And a doctor?”_

”– please wake up, Kira.”

_The young woman managed to crack her eyes open a tiny sliver at the sound of the weird, almost robotic, request, and she let out a long, low whimper as she started to feel how dull ache was slowly spreading across her upper body._

_”Is it your right side that hurts, Kira? Or is it your back?”_

”– can you hear me, miss?”

_Suddenly, the young woman felt like something was pulling her backwards and through the bed, which was insane and not possible, and before she could fully register as to what the hell was happening, she was falling downwards, the image of her dad holding onto her left hand drifting further and further away by each passing second._

*** * * * * * * * * * * * * ***

 

A long groan of discomfort and pain erupted from the woman who was laying completely still on the hard floor of the workshop that she called her own, and a disembodied voice asked, concerned, from the ceiling:  
”Are you alright, miss?”

She forced her eyes open, but otherwise, she kept completely still as she responded to the voice, sounding more than just a little uncomfortable:  
”Just, let me – let me lay here for a little while, okay, Jarvis? E-everything _hurts_ , so, _so_ much.”


	32. Inch by inch

Jarvis was in the middle of running yet another health scan on you (third one since you had awakened five minutes and twelve seconds ago and ninth in total since you had returned home), when you let out a quiet sound of discomfort (pretty sure no-one's counting _those_ anymore). Jarvis noticed how your blood pressure started climbing as he had been monitoring it with extra care in case of abnormalities, and just when he was about to inform you about the situation, you took a stuttering inhale as you tried to very carefully uncoil and relax your bundled up and tensed muscles.

”Ah, man, this sucks...” you muttered quietly as your body trembled and twitched minutely against the hard, unforgiving floor. The movement hadn't even been _that large_ , and yet it had managed to leave you feel exhausted (well, more than you already were) and breathless. You hadn't thought about just _how much_ the suit had supported you while you had been wearing it, but _now_ that particular aspect had certainly found its way onto your priority list of ´urgent things to consider _now_ instead of _later_ ´.

”Shall I alert Mr. Stark about your current status, Ms. Kira?”

You considered Jarvis' words as you tried to gather enough willpower and energy to even think about attempting to move yourself again.

”Um... uh, well...” you said uncertainly and tilted your head slightly in order to look around yourself, a part of your brain thinking about how utterly _pathetic_ you must look right now as you were laying helplessly on the floor, whining–

”No, I'll handle this by myself, thanks Jarvis.” you said as your eyes landed onto one of the weird saddle stools which Tony had ordered from the other side of the world. The stool had been pushed partly under a work table that was littered with large sheets of papers, the whole complex was located directly opposite of you, the distance being only three or so feet.

It felt like another part of your brains had just found a discarded shovel from the ground, and you soon felt how a grin was pushing through the Great Wall of Misery.

”If you are certain, miss–” Jarvis started, sounding a bit worried, but you reassured him quickly before he could have persuaded you into changing your mind:  
”Yeah, I'm sure, I have kind of a plan worked out.”

”Very well, miss.” Jarvis' patented sigh of disapproval rang through the air, making you cringe involuntarily. You sighed and decided to relent a little:  
”But, uh, y'know, if my plan doesn't work out after all, you have my full permission to call Tony as fast as you ever can.”

”Thank you, miss. If you happen to be in need of assistance, I am happy to provide.” Jarvis said, sounding much happier, and you pulled your lower lip into your mouth for a second as you thought about Jarvis' offer.

”Yea, uh, it would help if you could start the track number... three, from the beginning? Keep the volume up until I say so, okay.” you said slowly as you tried to measure the distance between yourself and the stool. As the music started playing, you closed your eyes briefly and took a calming breath.

 _”Okay, it's only nearly four feet to the stool, no problem.”_ you thought to yourself as you took a deepish breath before you carefully uncurled your aching body so that you were resting flat on the floor. During the transition, all air had escaped from your lungs and there were now hot tears gathering into the corners of your eyes as you gasped for air. The self-deprecating part of you smiled sarcastically when the self-respecting part accidentally tripped over with the shovel in hand.

You gritted your teeth together before you freed your trapped left hand from under you and started to drag your body onwards with the help of your metal arm. You let out a continuous stream of profanities as you crawled inch by inch closer to your destination, the music (blessedly) drowning everything under its loudness.

 

Four full songs later, you found yourself grasping one of the wheels of the stool with your better hand, and you grinned tiredly. You took a fortifying breath before you shut your eyes, your right hand falling onto the correct position on the floor before you opened your eyes again.

Circle of Life from The Lion King started playing just when you started to haul yourself upwards, using the piece of furniture as your support, and for a moment or two, even you yourself were unable to hear the screams that you emitted when almost every particle of your being protested your attempt of ascend from the floor.

 

(inside your head, the self-respecting part of your conscious smiled wickedly at the expression that the self-deprecating part had donned when the first one pushed itself up from the ground, shovel grasped firmly in its hold.)


	33. I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones (I'm radioactive, radioactive)

 

 

Unbeknownst to you, inside one of the guest suites located only a couple of floors above your workshop, the current resident of the room started to stir awake from the unconscious state where the transformation had left him a short while ago. It was the quiet sound of a clock ticking away somewhere near him that had started to reel his consciousness back up and onto the surface from the murky depths where it always seemed to plummet after he had turned back to his more ´normal´ self.

And like so many times before, when he was only partly awake and his senses hadn't had the time to fully adjust to the surrounding environment, some of his larger muscle groups spasmed unexpectedly, causing his whole body to jolt painfully. A low groan of discomfort escaped through his dry lips before he had the chance to clamp it down, and that was when Bruce became aware of a couple of things;

First, and the most alarming thing, was, that he had absolutely _no good idea_ where he was at currently, the overall safeness of his whereabouts was _highly_ questionable.

The second thing was, after the involuntary muscle cramp, the unexplainable feeling of almost weightlessness, and that, to a certain extent, was piquing his natural curiousness. Usually, after a transformation, he felt like someone had dumped a ton of bricks onto him, so this new feeling felt almost enjoyable.

The third thing he noticed, after he had awakened a little bit more, was that he felt unbelievable thirsty. And _hungry_ , too.

 

Deciding that he _had to_ start assessing his surroundings sooner rather than later, Bruce took a fortifying breath before opening his eyes. Someone had placed him into a very dim and very _spacious_ room, and he subconsciously pushed himself into a more elevated position on the incredibly comfortable bed where he was resting at the moment. As he was looking around himself, the dark tint of the large windows started to lighten suddenly, making him question his eyesight.

The question was already on his tongue, but just before he was about to mutter it out, a disembodied voice sounded from somewhere above him, startling him a fraction:  
”Good afternoon, Doctor Banner. In case you are wondering about your whereabouts, Doctor, you are currently staying in one of the guestrooms of the Stark Tower, located at 200 Park Avenue in Manhattan, New York.”

 

Bruce blinked a couple of times, he was trying to wrap his head around the information when an image from a couple of hours ago flashed through his mind. He quickly pushed himself into a sitting position on the bed, leaning his back against the padded headboard as a feeling of great concern was building inside his chest. The Doctor absolutely _had to_ get answers to some of the burning questions which had suddenly sparked at the back of his skull:  
”Are they alright? Sully and Tony?”

”According to my observations, they are both a little battered from the battle, but neither of them are suffering from anything life threatening as we speak, Doctor.” came Jarvis' answer after a beat. Bruce let out the breath he had been holding, some of his anxiousness leaving him for now upon hearing that the siblings were somewhat alright.

”The rest of the team has also inquired some injuries, agent Barton's sprained ankle seems to be the worst injury amongst them. Agent Romanoff has already stabilized the said injury with _ingenious_ usage of empty plastic bottles, half a roll of duct tape and agent Barton's own left combat boot.” Jarvis said with a hint of amusement in his voice, and the physicist huffed out a quiet laugh.

”Mr. Stark has instructed me to notify him whenever you shall awaken, Doctor, and he told me to inform you that you are free to use the suite's facilities as you wish. There is an en-suite bathroom located to your left hand side from where you can find a new set of clothes, and a combined kitchen/living room can be found just outside your bedroom, Doctor.” Jarvis spoke, and it was then when Bruce noticed the said doors. He thanked the informative voice quietly as he rubbed at his eyes before he started to move closer to one side of the bed, the smooth fabric of the warm blanket that someone had placed onto his body rustling quietly as he did so.

”So, uh, you said it's afternoon, right? How long was I out?” Bruce asked as he placed his bare feet onto the plush bedside carpet, and he couldn't help himself; he absolutely had to burrow his toes deeper into the carpet before he was able to pull himself together once more.

”You have been asleep for approximately forty minutes, Doctor. The rest of the team has decided to head out for a celebratory dinner when everyone has recovered as well as freshened themselves enough for the occasion.”

”Oh, okay.” Bruce replied quietly whilst sitting still on the edge of the bed and trying to will his aching body into moving. He was silent for a couple of heartbeats, but then his mind reminded him that he still didn't know for sure as to who he was talking to, thus:  
”Um, I'm sorry if I sound rude, but with who am I actually talking to right now?”

”Pardon me for not introducing myself; my name is Jarvis, we haven't officially met yet, but I was on board at the Helicarrier with you, Mr. Stark and Ms. Stark.”

 

”Huh?” Bruce blinked and looked at the ceiling surprised. Before Jarvis was able to reply, another voice sounded through the hidden speakers of the ceiling:  
”Hey Bruce, my buddy, I hear you have awakened!”

The owner of the incredibly chipper voice was none other than Tony Stark himself, and Bruce found himself smiling.

”Hey Tony.” the physicist greeted and finally stood up onto his feet. He had to quickly grab at the waistband of his borrowed pants, which were now torn and stretched into a shapeless mess, before they could have slipped down from his frame. He was kind of glad that no one was physically in the same room with him, as he was sure his face was now as red as the Iron Man armor was.

”Boy am I happy to hear you are alright! Uh, you _are_ alright, aren't you? Jarvis, run a health scan –” there was unguarded concern within Tony's voice suddenly, and Bruce hurried to answer:  
”I'm alright, Tony, I really am!”

There was a silence on Tony's end, then a sigh sounded through the system, but before the genius was able to say anything, a loud metallic _clank_ rang through the air, accompanied with a string of curses and a:  
” _Aha! In your face_ , you malfunctioning piece of chest plate!”

”I take that you are in the middle of something important?” Bruce asked as he made his way over to the bathroom. He flipped the light switch on as he entered there and easily located his new clothes when the lights turned on.

”Nah, it's over now, the last piece of my suit was just putting up a show for shits and giggles. I'm feeling a bit proud of myself right now; I managed to shed the suit off without accidentally setting a fire in the process. _This time_.” came Tony's answer, and Bruce heard how he apparently kicked a piece of his suit with his foot.

”This time?” Bruce asked as he started to clothe himself, starting from the pants section first.

”It's a, uh, long and kind of hilarious story, I should tell you all about it in the near future.” Tony answered, making Bruce snort in amusement.

”U-hu, I can hardly wait.”

”Yeah, but anyway, do you need anything, how does your new clothes fit? You _have_ located them already, right? I mean, I just picked something randomly from my own closet – they are all new, rest assured –, but, yeah.” Tony had the ability to start rambling when he felt antsy and insecure, something Bruce knew very well himself, and he assured his friend quickly before he would have started to doubt himself even more:  
”These are perfect, thank you, Tony. You know, for everything, I mean.”

 

Again, he was met with silence which didn't last for long, and when Tony replied, he sounded noticeably calmer:  
”That's – that's good. And hey, no problem! Y'know, ´mi casa es su casa´ et cetera. And, uh, again, do tell me, Jarvis, or Sully if you need anything. I'm not sure if there's anything edible in the fridge, but there should be like, energy bars somewhere in the kitchen if you want to eat something before we all head out.”

Bruce was buttoning his shirt closed as he answered:  
”Yeah, Jarvis told me we're gonna go out for dinner.”

”He has? Well, that's great, we'll meet at the penthouse once everyone are ready.”

”Sounds good to me.” Bruce replied and slipped his feet into the black loafers Tony had put out for him.

”Alright, now, if you'll excuse me, I have some things I have to do, so, I'll see you at the lounge, Doc!” Tony said and Bruce was left alone for the time being.

Once the doctor had finished dressing himself, he looked at his image through the bathroom mirror. He sighed at the sight that greeted him there, the bags under his eyes had grown a little bit darker, and he swore there were a couple more grey hairs in his hair than there was before the whole invasion had started. He rubbed at his face with both of his hands before he turned around and decided to use the bathroom while he was in there before he was going to hunt and eat some of the energy bars Tony had mentioned. And down at least half a gallon of water while he was at it.

 

Approximately fifteen minutes later, Bruce was ready to leave his newly found cocoon of tranquility in order to meet up with the others. He exited from the guest suite and found himself standing in a hallway. He walked to the end of the hallway where an elevator was located before he stopped to stand behind the closed doors. Someone was already using the lift, it had almost reached his floor as it was moving upwards, and before Bruce had time to react, the cart stopped with a _ding_ straight in front of him. The doors opened with a swishing sound, and at that moment, the physicist knew that the image of the person he was currently staring straight into her haunted eyes was going to stay with him for a long, _long_ time.

 

 


	34. Welcome to the uncomfortable zone

Fresh beads of salty hot water rolled down from your eyes, renewing once again the tear tracks you already had on your cheeks as you sat rigidly on the wheeled piece of ergonomic furniture. You held your injured right side with your better hand while you tried to breathe through the throbbing pain that the literal last push had sparked. Jarvis had lowered down the music at some point of time, and you only became aware of the near silence of the room when a watery sob managed to escape through your lips.

The music stopped instantly, and Jarvis' worried ”Ms. Kira?” was now the only sound that echoed inside your workshop.

You inhaled shakily and screwed your eyes tightly shut before squeezing out:  
”J-just give me a s-second, Jarvis.”

You took another very, _very careful_ inhale of cool air as you tried to figure out the exact limit where the pain would turn too unbearable to handle. After a heartbeat or two, you released the breath in a short, shaky huff whilst a couple more tears left your eyes. Yep, you weren't going to take a deep breath in only god knows how many days, that's for sure.

”Aww, _crap_...” you sighed quietly as you opened your eyes again. You extracted your left hand from your right side carefully before placing both palms against the paper covered desk.

”Jarvis?” you asked with a strained voice whilst you tried to – once again – mentally prepare yourself against the upcoming wave of pain.

”Yes, miss?”

”Could you, uh, t-tint the windows and, um, max up the lightning at the break area?” you instructed as you started to heave yourself upwards from the stool. Only couple of seconds later, you were damn near from vocalizing your _impressive_ list of profanities (you could curse worse than a old time-y sailor if the time's ´right´; of course, Tony thinks it's utterly hilarious), and it was only thanks to Jarvis' question that you were able to keep yourself together:  
”Is there anything else I can help you with, miss?”

 

You had to quickly swallow down the, uh, _longish_ , swear word that threatened to break free from behind your clenched teeth, and by taking a calming breath of air, you answered:  
”I can't think of anything at the moment, thanks, J.”

”Very well, miss.” the A.I. replied, still sounding more or less concerned.

You closed your eyes for a brief moment as you were finally standing on your own two feet again, your hands being still pressed against the table's surface for extra support. Your feet felt like cooked spaghetti now that they were free from the rather snug exoskeleton that was currently laying in pieces all around you. You let out a tired sigh and let your head fall forward before you opened your eyes once again.

A design sheet for three times more efficient and _at least_ five times more cheaper solar panel system came into your focus after you had blinked the remnants of the unshed tears away.

You gave the design an idle once-over before you started to carefully straighten your back. You let out a low groan once you were standing in a somewhat straight posture, and you were more than sure that your back would have popped pretty damn spectacularly if only your backbone would have been like everyone else's.

 

”Excuse me, miss, but sir has instructed me to inform both you and himself immediately when Dr. Banner awakens.” Jarvis informed you just when you were turning towards the small break area where one could find a kitchenette and a heavenly cushioned couch.

”Oh, that's good... so, uh, how is he, by the way?” you asked, feeling surprised that he had awakened that fast.

 _”Just like after we fell into that old warehouse...”_ you thought and just like that, a slow motion flash of the shirtless Doctor drifted into your mind, making you to almost choke on your own saliva all the sudden. You had to clear your throat quickly in order to stop the coughing fit from beginning. 

”According to my sensors, Dr. Banner is experiencing muscle sores as well as irregular muscle spasms. I would predict they will be gone within the next forty eight hours if proper care has been applied.” Jarvis answered and you nodded a little.

”Yeah, I-I'm sure he wants to take things relatively easy for the next couple of days.” you said and you knew in that instant as to what was going to come next, and sure enough:  
”May there be any way I could convince you to see Dr. Wilson from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s medical division within the next twenty four hours, miss?”

 

You sighed again whilst you started walking (a bit shakily) towards the Holy Sanctuary that was located _so conveniently_ at the very back of your workshop.

_scree~!-rattle-clank!_

_”Note to myself; change the floor plan of my workshop so that the break area **isn't** located at the far end of the freaking Universe...”_ you thought before replying to Jarvis:  
”I... I will think about it, Jarvis.”

_scree~!-rattle-clank!_

”Thank you, miss.”

_scree~!-rattle-clank!_

”Yeah...” you muttered quietly, the sounds coming from your left leg bouncing off from the surrounding surfaces with every step you took. You let out a long sigh of relief when you _finally_ reached the break area. The couch was practically tempting you to sit on it, but you knew that you couldn't do that just yet, you still had to find the strength to assess and nurture your various injuries.

So, instead of falling like a dead fish onto the cushioned furniture, you made your way into the kitchen area. You opened the door to the cabin above the microwave and pulled out a first aid kit. You pushed the door closed and only then you allowed yourself to shuffle your way to the couch.

You sat down onto the soft edge carefully before you placed the kit onto the small coffee table in front of the couch.

 

”I need a mirror here, thanks.” you said quietly as you opened the rectangular box, and sure enough, a hologram with a mirror effect on popped in front of you from seemingly out of nowhere.

”Lockdown on, please.” you said and then heard the whirl of the locking mechanism echo around the room. You certainly didn't want anyone to see your body and the different markings laying on your skin if and or when you had to undress yourself in order to tend your current injuries.

You chewed the inside of your left cheek absentmindedly as you moved the hologram closer to your face with your right hand. You tapped one corner of the hologram and the image zoomed onto the scratch/bump onto your forehead. You cringed at the state of your head injury before you fished out a disinfectant spray, some cotton swaps and the packet of medical strips from the first aid kit.

Five minutes passed as you swiped the wound and the surrounding area clean with the disinfectant (”God _damn_ , this stuff _burns!_ ”) as best as you could before you applied three pieces of Medi-Strips onto the scratch.

”There, good as new.” you deadpanned quietly as you inspected your handiwork through the mirror. Then you huffed out a breath of air and started to peel off your battered jacket as gently as you could muster. Once the jacket was off of you, you muttered ”Fuck it.” before wrestling your blue shirt over your head along with the white tank top. You squished the discarded clothes into a nice little pile into the nearest corner of the couch before you turned to regard your torso through the mirror.

” _Jesus Henry Christ_.” you sighed with a feeling at the sight of your right side. The reddish purple bruise started from just below the band of your pale pink bra, and it continued all the way there where your floating ribs were located at. The bruise was five to six inches wide from the widest point, and it was bound to cause pain whenever you decided to move and/or bend your upper body, as you already were aware of _that_ fact.

You felt around the bruised area very, _very gently_ with the fingers of your better hand before applying a feather-like pressure onto the bruise itself. Your breath stuttered and a groan wormed its way out of your mouth in a lightning speed.

”Okay, well, that was a novelty experience.” you squeezed out as you extracted your hand away from the bruising.

 

”Miss, according to the various medical sites of the Internet, applying a cool pack directly onto the bruised area should help alleviate the pain to some extent. Also, taking a dose of ibuprofen fairly regularly should help with the healing process alongside with generous doses of rest. And if the healing process does not start the way it should, seeking the help of a general practitioner is highly advisable. Or, like in your case, miss, Dr. Wilson.” Jarvis offered his help from the ceiling once again, and you considered the cool pack only a heartbeat before you snatched one of the larger instant cool packs there were (thank the heavens!) inside the kit. Probably only Tony knows _why_ the pack was so large and thin to begin with, but you were only glad that there _were_ those kinds of packs existing within the Tower.

”Oh, _bless you_ , Jarvis!” you sighed as you broke the small capsule inside the cool pack and mangled the pack in order to make it cool.

”I am happy to be able to help you, miss.” Jarvis replied as you squished the blessedly cool packet into its designated pouch before zipping it closed. You let out a hiss that quickly turned into a moan when you placed the packet against your bruise.

”According to the Internet, it is not advisable to use any types of bandages around one's chest area when the person is suffering a chest injury, miss.” Jarvis' voice drifted through the almost euphoric feeling you were experiencing as you held the cool packet against your side with your better hand.

You hummed to yourself in consideration because you weren't going to abandon the cool pack anytime soon, but you also weren't going to hold the packet with your hands throughout the dinner either. Suddenly, your eyes landed onto the roll of a inch and a half wide kinetic tape.

”Welp, that'll do the trick.” you said to yourself before spending the next eight minutes taping the piece of Antarctic onto your side.

 

”Alright, two down, one to go...” you sighed after you had wrestled your shirts back on again. The jacket could wait for as long as it would take for you to fix your leg back into its more _silent_ version. 

You tapped the hologram away and you moved the first aid kit next to you on the couch before you lifted your left leg onto the coffee table. You pulled the fabric of your pants leg over your knee to as far up your thigh as it would go, and the sight of your leg made you to facepalm yourself with your metal hand.

”Ohh boy, what a mess...” you muttered with a slight head shake. To put it mildly, it looked like someone had first lit your prosthetic leg into fire before giving it a generous whacking with a eleven pound sledgehammer. There was no way that you could fix your leg with yourself, and the realization elected a groan of frustration out of you.

You ran your left hand through your hair as you tried to think a way of how to proceed with the leg issue. Your eyes drifted onto the kinetic tape again, and you raised an eyebrow at it.

”Aww, to hell with it, I'm gonna tape the shit out of this leg of mine...” you sighed quietly and proceeded to do just that. In the end, it looked almost like over half of your left leg was made of blue tape, but, what ever, it effectively silenced the mangled thing and ensured that all of the loose parts stayed inside the wrapping.

 

”Alrighty then...” you said as you stood up from the couch, a bottle of ibuprofen grasped firmly in your hand. You were pleased not to hear any sounds coming from your left side as you took the few steps there where the sink was. You filled a large glass with water and first gulped half of it down before uncapping the bottle of pain medicine and downing two pills and the rest of the water with three large gulps. You filled the glass once more and sipped it empty with a slower pace before placing the glass back onto the counter.

You then went back to the couch and grabbed your jacket with you as you were making your way towards the doors.

”Jarvis, keep the lockdown on after I have left, okay? I'm gonna clean this place up after the dinner is over. Or tomorrow, I don't really know yet.” you talked before you halted still as you remembered something quite important.

”Yes, miss.”

You made a quick u-turn and walked back a couple of steps before you were standing in front of a wall of mounted lockers. You opened one door and pulled out a pair of running shoes. You toed your remaining shoe off before dropping the pair of shoes onto the floor. You slipped your feet into them while you carefully pulled the jacket on. You then opened another door and fetched an older pair of black gloves out from the depths of the locker.

Once you deemed yourself presentable enough, you opened the heavy workshop door and slipped into the hallway. You made your way to the elevator and stepped in there once it had opened its doors. You went to lean your back against the back wall after ordering the elevator to rise to the penthouse floor.

 

You became painfully aware of how you had forgotten to put on the mask you wore when you didn't want anyone to know how much in pain you truly were, when, after a minute, the elevator suddenly stopped, the doors opened and the good Doctor's persona greeted you without a single warning.

 

And his deep, brown eyes, they were full of _pity_.


	35. You, me, and this gap full of pity and awkwardness between us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the _embarrassingly_ long wait, I had a plan to update this much, _much_ sooner, but the time just flew out of the window like a freaking bat out of hell. :/
> 
> Anyway, here's a new chapter for you all, I'm not completely happy about it, but I guess it's still somewhat readable(?).
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated, and if you spot an error of any kind, _please_ , point it out to me so that I can fix it and improve as a (hobbyist) writer.
> 
>  
> 
> much love, _ghost_

Within a span of only a couple of heartbeats – during which time the Doctor kept staring at you with a sad look plastered onto his face – you had hurriedly straightened what little was left of your posture in order to show him that you weren't, in fact, as pitiful as he _apparently_ thought you were.

It became quite obvious to you, as you inhaled in pain so quickly that your nostrils fucking _flared_ , that the two painkillers you had downed probably no more than fifteen minutes ago, hadn't had the time to reach into their full effect just yet.

How _wonderful_.

You were already busy grinding your teeth together when Bruce found it from himself to greet one of his hosts face to face:  
”Oh, um... Hi Sully.”

 

The greeting sounded so painfully awkward even to Bruce's own ears, that, without any conscious thinking, his right hand found its way to scratch at the back of his head as he stepped into the elevator. You, on the other hand, were trying your hardest to calm yourself down as you just _knew_ that accidentally chipping off a piece from one of your teeth wasn't going to do any good to your already sour mood.

” _Doctor._ ” you greeted back rather coldly as the man in question stopped to stand good _three feet_ to your right, leaving more space between the two of you than there had been when you and the Hulk used the cargo lift only a couple of hours earlier. If you would have spared a glance towards the man instead of staring intensively at the closing doors of the elevator, you would have noticed the visible flinch that your companion was unable to prevent.

”Uh, yeah...” was all Bruce was able to utter after your unexpectedly chilly response. He took a quick glance towards you before he averted his gaze back to the floor of the lift, and the hand that was subconsciously messing up his hair, stopped its motion before dropping down to rub at the knuckles of his other hand in an anxious manner.

 

There was a growing concern nagging at the back of Bruce's mind that he had done something wrong to you at some point during the battle, if the way you were standing told him anything; your entire body looked like a bowstring pulled too tight, ready to snap without a second's notice.

The Doctor tried to rack his brains in order to find the missing piece of highly valuable information that could possibly explain what he did wrong, but he couldn't find anything useful. It became clear that Bruce's only option now was to treat the situation very, _very_ carefully, kind of like trying the ice with a stick.

”So, um, how are you doing, Sully?” Bruce asked tentatively, only barely registering the movement when the elevator cart started its ascend towards the higher levels.

 _”How am I doing? Seriously? Well, for your information, I'm pretty sure I died and was resurrected twice today, thank you very much, I am in constant pain, I'm worried that I have a concussion or two going on as we speak, then there's a one hundred percent chance that I'm gonna have to endure a fuck-ton of hours that it's gonna take to change my prosthetic leg into a working one, and as if those weren't already hard enough to bare, there's also this fucktard_ Loki _who's being held captive inside my god damned home!”_ your emotions were practically boiling inside your head, and you had to cross your arms against your chest in order to both alleviate the slight trembling your all too tense muscles caused as well as to calm your mind so that you could still act like a (somewhat) civil human being.

”I'm doing just _fine_ , thanks.” you answered as calmly as you could, hoping to, well, _God_ , that Bruce would drop the subject already. And look, the ever-capricious Lady Luck decided to be on your side for once:  
”Right, uh, that's great.”

 

As you released a quiet sigh of relief, you managed to miss yet another worried look that Bruce send to your way. There was this certain uneasiness that was growing stronger inside his mind as the seconds passed by in silence, but you were oblivious about your companion's internal struggles since you were trying to keep your mind busy enough so that you wouldn't start counting the seconds until you were able to retreat, preferably alone, into your apartment.

A full minute passed before you felt how the elevator started to slow down, and soon enough, the doors opened with Jarvis' voice:  
”Ms. Stark, Dr. Banner; the lounge floor.”

”Thanks, Jarvis.” you said, a feeling of relief washing over you as you stepped to the hallway first.

”Uh, thank you, Jarvis.” Bruce followed your example in both thanking the A.I. as well as exiting from the elevator.

”Thank you, miss, doctor.” Jarvis responded and continued:  
”Ms. Stark, I must apologize for bothering you, but it seems like sir may be in need of your assistance regarding the... _problem_ , he is facing at currently.”

 

Truth be told, you didn't feel bothered at all, if anything, Jarvis had only managed to pique your interest with the tiniest amount of disapproval ringing in his voice.

”Can you tell me where he is and what kind of a problem it is, J?” you asked while standing still in the hallway, the Doctor standing and waiting for you a couple of feet ahead.

”Sir is currently in the lounge floor's kitchen _attempting_ to recreate the beverage that you made for him last Saturday, miss.” Jarvis answered and you knew _exactly_ what he was talking about.

”Oh, he's trying to... okay. Thanks again, Jarvis.” you said while rubbing the bridge of your nose with your right hand fingers.

”My sincerest apologies, miss.” Jarvis said sympathetically, and you sighed as you opened your eyes whilst lowering down your hand.

”Nah, it's alright, J.” you responded to the A.I. before you remembered you weren't alone in the hallway.

 

”So, um, I better go and check on Tony before he pours all of the ingredients into a blender and, y'know, accidentally brews something potentially poisonous to consume.” you spoke as you turned on your spot to address the Doctor. He nodded slightly, and this time, actually _looked you in the eye_ as he responded:  
”Yeah, okay, I, uh, I'll go and meet up with the others then.”

”And we will meet you guys there as soon as it's humanly possible.” you said as you were already moving towards the kitchen, eager to get away from the awkward situation.


	36. Spill the beans

You were walking as fast as you were able to towards the kitchen, and you realized – as you neared the open doorway – that it _had been_ a wise decision to go and check about what Tony was doing:

”I would like to recommend you to wait until Ms. Sully has arrived before you add any more liquor into your coffee, sir.”

”Maybe, but I'm _sure_ she mixed at least three spoonfuls of Baileys into everyone's mug after the dinner... even Pepper said it tasted good...”

”Ms. Sully used a regular teaspoon when she created the beverages, sir, whilst you yourself are using a much larger tablespoon as we speak.”

 

You rolled your eyes good-naturedly at the exchange and a small, genuine smile bloomed across your face when you reached the doorway. Your arrival went unnoticed by Tony as he lifted the hand that was holding the piece of stainless steel cutlery closer to his eyes:  
”Oh, so _that's why_ it felt so weird to stir...”

The ´genius´ hummed thoughtfully while you crossed your arms against your chest and shifted your body so that you could lean your left side against the door frame. You huffed out a quiet laugh that managed to turn Tony's attention towards you. The smile that appeared onto his face was as warm as it was blinding, so much so that it managed to widen yours spontaneously.

”Ah! There you are, Sully!” Tony said, sounding both happy and relieved at the same time. For reasons unknown – or probably it happened because you were still under a lot of physical and mental stress – you felt how your throat tightened with emotion, making your smile waver momentarily in the process. You cleared your throat slightly before you were able to reply, your smile now looking a little bit more crooked than it had been a second ago:  
”Yeah... good to see you too, Tony.”

 

Contrary to what he so often claims, Tony was actually able to pick up the moods of those around him, he only had to befriend them first (which usually didn't happen very fast mainly because he had some major, uh, _issues_ , in that department). And yes, he may have read someone ( _Pepper_ ) wrong a couple of times in the past, but _usually_ he was able to learn from his mistakes and improve his people-skills accordingly. That being said, our only _sometimes_ oblivious engineer was now able to tell from his not-related-by-blood-but-of-heart little sister's body language that something wasn't entirely right, and that he _might_ have to act more like the big brother he has always wished to be.

”Right. So, uh, I see you have removed your suit, how did that go?” Tony asked while quickly returning the spoon back into the large ceramic mug that was sitting, now forgotten, on the counter next to him. You straightened your posture before you made a sort of a last minute decision to close the door, once again remembering that the tower was kind of occupied with more or less random people.

”Well, uh, I didn't have to use a crowbar nor a fire extinguisher, so, um, I think it went pretty well, actually.” you answered when you turned to face Tony again, your left hand finding its way to scratch at the back of your head in a slightly awkward and nervous manner. You weren't _lying_ per se, but you _were_ definitely avoiding telling the whole story, because not even you yourself were able to fully comprehend about what had really happened back there in the workshop.

 

Tony hummed understandably, obviously not knowing all of the details, but he understood nonetheless that shedding off the suit for the first time surely mustn't have been the easiest of tasks to do (he should know, he _kind of_ had personal experience of that matter).

”You know, I've been thinking about adding that into our family motto in one of these days.” Tony said with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, obviously trying to lift up the general atmosphere of the room. Your smile did melt into a more natural one at that, but it still wasn't able to reach your eyes fully just yet.

”Yeah, that – that actually sounds like fun.” you said and then gestured at the mug on the counter, bringing the attention back to the subject in hand:  
”So, I take you needed some help with that?”

 

Tony turned briefly in order to glance at the mug before he answered:  
”Well, I don't know, _maybe_ , according to _Jarvis_ , that is.”

”What ever you say, Tony.” you said, and this time, there was genuine laughter within your voice. Tony grinned happily to you, it seemed that he had finally succeeded in his task to make you laugh again. The engineer made room to you by taking a step to his left, and you asked, as you moved closer to the counter:  
”So, how many spoonfuls of that stuff you have already mixed in your drink?”

You pointed at the bottle of liquor as you eyed the mug in mild amusement. Tony plucked the spoon out of the said mug and showed it to you more closely:  
”Two full ones before Jarvis interrupted my cookings.”

You rubbed the bridge of your nose with your good hand while letting out a deep sigh at the proud expression that Tony was sporting.

”As Jarvis mentioned earlier, I used a _tea_ spoon, not _table_ spoon, Tony.”

”Yeah, well, maybe it will still be drinkable if we'll divide it into two mugs, right? You wanna enjoy some coffee before dinner, Sully?” Tony asked, first eyeing the questionable drink before looking at you. You worried your bottom lip briefly before sighing again and saying:  
”Thanks Tony, I would like to have some, but I shouldn't drink anything that contains alcohol, at least, not right now anyways. I uh, I think I have a concussion going on so I took two Advils as a precaution before I got here, so, yeah...”

 

You shrugged your good shoulder at the end of your speech and almost winced at the look of worry that Tony was currently wearing.

”How are you really doing, Kira?” Tony asked, his quieter voice carrying real concern within itself, and you had to bite your lower lip in order to stop it from trembling. You had to take a deep breath before you were able to answer quietly:  
”I, uh... I guess, not very good, Tony.”

At this, Tony took a careful step towards you before he placed his right hand gently onto your left shoulder. At this point, you were literally five seconds away from bursting into tears, but you _still_ tried to explain your many problems to him:  
”There's a large bruise on my right side, Tony, and I can't – I can't take a deep breath because of it, I tried but it just hurts, and – and there's also the concussion I mentioned, right? I dunno, I'm just, aching all over, and – and–”

You let out a watery gasp despite your best efforts to hold back your tears. Tony practically threw the spoon onto the counter before he enveloped you into a hug whilst being careful not to cause anymore pain to you. You buried your face into his shirt all the while heaving painful gasps of air, the freely falling tears dampening the fabric under your eyes and making you feel even worse.

”You're safe now, Kira, no-one's going to hurt you anymore, I promise.” Tony murmured as he moved his right hand against your back in a soothing way.

”I am so pathetic!” your exclamation came out muffled, and at that, Tony carefully hugged you a little bit tighter.

”You are one of the bravest people I have ever known, and trust me when I say that I will fight anyone who ever claims otherwise.” Tony talked quietly, making you to hug him back equally hard.

 

After what felt like hours, but was actually only a couple of minutes, your outburst started to calm down into a sniffling fit. Tony loosened his hold on you as you lifted your face from his shoulder and when he felt how you released your right arm from around himself, but he still held your left shoulder with his right hand in a comforting gesture. You took a half a step back before using the right hand sleeve of your blue shirt to dry your face. 

”Sorry I ruined your shirt.” you mumbled as you eyed at the dark wet spot on Tony's shirt, but he just smiled affectionately and brushed it off:  
”There's nothing to apologize, honey.”

You took a shaky breath while nodding a little at his reassurance.

”Better?” Tony asked when you were able to look at him again, and you answered while scratching the back of your head, feeling a lot less anxious and miserable than before:  
”Better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [I'm not crying, _you_ are crying! *ugly sobbing sound coming from the distance* ]
> 
>  
> 
> All the mistakes in grammar are made by me, thankyouverymuch! As always, enjoy, and maybe leave some feedback on the way out, right?
> 
> yours,
> 
>  
> 
> _~ghost_


	37. To keep you safe and sound

By stepping back a couple of steps, Tony effectively granted you enough room to compose yourself once more as well as some time to wipe your eyes dry (and clean) with one of your gloved hands. The engineer turned towards the industrial-styled sink before he opened the cupboard above it in order to take out a tall drinking glass. And as he was filling the glass with cold water, a memory from roughly two years ago drifted suddenly back into the forefront of his mind:

_Malibu, L.A. 18th of August, 2010_

_Tony was back in his mansion with Pepper and Jarvis as he had just returned home from the unexpectedly short trip to the Death Valley, the fact that he hadn't returned alone was equally unexpected. The guy who had been responsible of their escape was now standing in the middle of their living room, half of his face looking (alarmingly) pale while the other half looked like someone had been punching it repeatedly over the course of several days._

_A sudden shiver ran up to his spine at the thought as he dropped a couple of ice cubes into a tall glass before he filled it almost to the brim with cold water. He took the tablet of Advil which sat on the kitchen island and which he had readied as soon as he had stepped back into the kitchen, with him when he turned in order to return back to the living room._

_Tony_ was _actually aware that he had been blessed with very poor impulse control and that he had made pretty stupid mistakes in the past because of it, yet all of his doubts and reservations he might have had against his savior flew out of the window like a bat out of hell when his eyes landed onto the shivering mess of a person standing right in front of him._

_The guy looked like he was trying to stave off a serious panic attack, a kind of attack which Tony knew of very well himself (sponsored by the impromptu three month-trip to a cave in Afghanistan). It was at that moment when something in Tony's mind clicked into place, helping him finish the plan that his subconscious had kick started the minute he had met the guy._

_Come hell or high water, Tony was going to at least_ try _and help the guy – Blues – back onto his feet, he was determined to help him through the undoubtedly long and strenuous recovery process of which Tony himself had plenty of experience, too (Afghanistan, again), and he was one hundred percent sure to never let anyone hurt his new friend ever again._

 

Tony had to mentally shake away the flashback before he was able to return back to his previous place. You nodded as a thank you when he offered you the beverage, and after watching how you gulped down a few sips, the genius remembered to fill you in with the latest news:  
”Do you remember the astrophysicist who worked with S.H.I.E.L.D., that Selvig guy?”

”Sorta, what about him?” you asked after swallowing down a mouthful of water, your eyebrows furrowing slightly as you tried to recall his appearances. You remembered reading about him and his research regarding the Tesseract, but you weren't entirely sure about how he looked like.

”Well, agent Hill – you remember her, right? – and a couple of other equally uptight agents dropped by around half an hour ago and took Dr. Selvig with them for what she called an ´extensive mental and physical evaluation´. They're probably just gonna poke his brains and make him fill all sorts of boring forms in hopes to assess just how much that asshat Loki messed with his mind.” Tony spoke, the mug of liquor-spiked coffee (well, let's be honest, it was _mostly_ made of liquor) finding its way into his right hand while the other was gesticulating almost wildly in the space between the two of you, like it always tended to do when he was telling a story of some sorts.

”Oh, okay. I think he was trying to find the kitchen earlier, I didn't get to meet him then, but I heard how he talked with agent Romanoff.” you said just when Tony took a sip from his mug. He made a face the instant his tongue came into contact with the liquid, and he muttered under his breath:  
”Yeah, there's _definitely_ too much alcohol in here, _Jesus_...”

 

You were able to resist the urge to snigger at his cursing, but you were otherwise unable to hold back the smirk that found its way onto your face. Tony continued talking after he'd taken another sip (it was obvious that his palate was already getting used to the flavor):  
”That explains why he thanked me when he was on his way out, said he's never seen a kitchen this big and said that the coffee he drank here was the best he has ever had.”

You gave a slight nod at that, saying:  
”Gabriela Rocha sure knows how to farm robusta beans.”

”Exactly.” Tony agreed without missing a beat. Silence filled the space between the two of you then, but it was short lived when Tony – after he had placed the now empty mug onto the counter (apparently the ´coffee´ hadn't been all that bad, after all) – made an attempt to continue the conversation you two were having earlier:  
”So, you mentioned earlier that you're aching all over, right? And that you might be suffering from a concussion as we speak?”

You sighed before you mumbled a quiet ´yes´, your eyes following the idle movements of both of your thumbs as they were swiping away the condensation from the cool surface of the glass, your fingers being wrapped around the object by a old habit. Tony hummed quietly before asking a question he already knew the answer for:  
”Have you seen a doctor yet?”

”No, she's, uh, she's probably busy nursing the agents who got injured during the attack. _Attacks_ , I meant.” you answered after taking a sip of water, your eyes examining the damp spot on Tony's shirt with growing relief; the fabric was drying relatively fast and wouldn't (with any luck) leave any kind of mark behind.

 

”I'm pretty sure Fury would let her come here if I'd give him a call; no explanations needed.” Tony said with a slight nod, his right hand already deep inside the pocket of his pants where he kept his StarkPhone™.

”Uh, I, um, I don't want to be a bother...” you said while worrying your bottom lip, but Tony just smiled at you reassuringly, the phone grasped firmly into his hand:  
”You're not bothering anyone, I swear! Hell, if Fury even _tries_ to suggest something like that, I'll remind him of what we just prevented down here! Besides, I remember Dr. Wilson saying that she's always available if you need her help with anything, Kira.”

You nodded slightly at his words, and as you were taking another sip from your glass, a sudden need made itself known for the first time since the time you woke up in the morning.

”So, uh, Tony, I'm gonna go and, um, use the bathroom while you make the call, if that's all right?” you asked while placing the glass onto the counter.

”Yeah, go for it, hon! I'll meet you in the hallway after I have finished chatting with Director Patchy.” Tony said with a smile, the phone already pressed against his ear. You smiled back at him affectionately before you turned, opened the door and exited to the hallway.

You let out an actual snort when you closed the door behind you and when your ears managed to pick up a loud, cheerful exclamation that sounded suspiciously like ”Director Patchy!”.


	38. Reflections

The slight echo of your quiet laugh managed to pull your thoughts back to the situation in hand as you were standing, presumably alone, in the hallway. You let your hand drop from the doorhandle as you eyed your surroundings, finding that you _were_ , in fact, standing alone in the hallway. You let out a quiet groan as you realized that everyone else were probably already waiting for you and Tony to join them in the living room. To be honest, you had completely lost your appetite during the last couple of hours, and knowing that you had to at least _try_ to eat something in that weird restaurant that Tony had suggested earlier all the while being surrounded by five other people, which, by-the-way, you had only just met, well... let's just say that all of that made you feel even worse.

You heaved out a long sigh, mentally berating yourself that it was no use to wallow in self-pity in the middle of the hallway when instead you _should be_ heading towards the bathroom like you were meant to only a couple of heartbeats ago. You rubbed your face with both of your hands, not even noticing that your feet were moving you along the length of the corridor in what _had to be_ some form of an autopilot, and, yeah, maybe it _was_ a good idea after all to see Dr. Wilson as soon as it was humanly possible.

The _click_ of a door being opened right in front of you startled you back to the present time, and you had to blink more than once in order to fully comprehend about what was happening. It turned out to be your own right hand that had found its way around the doorhandle before turning it in order to open the door to a large bathroom.

” _Jesus_ , Kira...” you muttered under your breath as you walked inside. You squeezed your eyes shut as the fingers of you left hand rubbed at the bridge of your nose almost vigorously while your other hand closed and locked the door behind you.

 

Now that you had finally reached your desired destination, _the need_ made itself known again, forcing you to quicken all of your movements. Needless to say that afterwards, you felt immensely relieved and a little bit breathless, even some of the tension you had felt earlier seemed to have ebbed away.

A short while later, when you were washing your hands –you had quickly removed your gloves before you had stuffed them hastily into one of the pockets of your pants when you hurried towards the toilet– you happened to look up from your soapsuds covered hands. The usually so warm and almost ambient light of the bathroom had suddenly turned into a very cold, very _harsh_ one, now that you were staring at your reflection from the large, oval mirror. Your hands stilled their actions whilst the warm water was still running over them in the sink as you examined the reflection with critical eyes.

You had been too engrossed to nurse your various injuries the last time there was a proper mirror placed in front of you, that it was only now when you were able to actually _see_ how you looked like to everyone else:

Your gaze fell onto the DIY-bandaged scrape on your forehead, which, surprisingly, didn't look nearly as bad as it felt like, though there were hints of purple forming around and over the bandaged area, meaning that there was a hundred percent chance that the bruise was going to be _much_ bigger and much more noticeable the following day.

Sighing, you rolled your eyes at your image, and speaking of which, you noticed how your irises were looking at least a shade darker than usually due to the crying spells you had experienced today. There was also some redness circling your eyes, thanks to the excessive crying, _again_ , with distinct (to your own eyes, at least) darkness located right under your lower eyelids. You prayed in your mind that you would get at least a couple of hours of uninterrupted sleep tonight before the (more-than-likely) nightmares would roll in.

You eyed at your face in general after you were done with your eyes, feeling triumphant that there were no traces of that disgustingly _greenish_ alien blood that the Captain had obtained onto his suit, nor there were smudges of soot anywhere where you happened to look at. Small victories, you supposed while giving a wry smile to your image.

And speaking of your smile; your lips, though they certainly _felt_ dry, surprisingly didn't look as bad as you had thought earlier, and knowing it probably wouldn't help much, you sucked them into your mouth anyway in order to get them feel a little bit more moisturized. It was at that moment when the memory of Bruce kissing you in a middle of a potential apocalypse decided to pop right back into your conscious mind. Your eyes widened considerably whilst your cheeks obtained a slight rosy dusting on themselves. Feeling a sudden surge of angriness, you turned your head quickly to the side at the same time when your better hand slammed the faucet shut.

 

You had let yourself believe, even _hope_ , that Bruce would have been understanding regarding your physical appearance, and that he had seen you as _who_ you were, not _what_ you were. But when you had met the Doctor in the elevator and when you had noticed the expression he was wearing when he looked at you then, well, it all cracked something deep inside of you.

You had had enough of the pitying looks people send to your way back in the day when you had to stay in a hospital in Houston right after the accident, and it only got worse when you were transferred closer to your own home after the three months and some odd days that it took from you to heal (well, _heal_ is a relative term anyway...). Friends from school and your part-time job dropped by every other day to visit and cheer you up, not to mention the neighbors who came by and asked how you and your dad were holding up, but, no matter who came through the door, they all were wearing identical masks of pity, the kind you _absolutely_ didn't want to see.

(ultimately, the steady stream of visitors started to dry out, until one day, you realized it had been almost a month when one of your closest neighbors had last dropped by with a homemade apple pie. And, although the realization pained you in some ways, you still felt kind of relieved, to finally _not be_ targeted with all that pity every time they saw you.)

 

You grabbed a clean towel from the table next to the sink and proceeded to wipe your hands dry with it, feeling annoyed, tired and achy all over. You tossed the towel into the hamper next to the door on your way out, thinking how your dad had been the only one who never looked at you with pity in his eyes.


	39. Hold your breath and count to ten

When you turned back after closing the bathroom door, you saw how Tony stepped to the hallway from the kitchen, his attention being fixed onto the phone in his hand. He lifted his gaze from the device when he heard the sound of a door being closed, his warm brown eyes looking regretful as they met yours.

”So, uh, how did it go?” you asked whilst moving towards the genius, though you already could guess how his call with the Director went, his expression revealing pretty much everything there was to know. Still, you kept up the faint hope that your regular doctor would be able to tend you as you watched how Tony heaved out a sigh whilst pocketing the device back into the right pocket, his shoulders dropping a little with the action.

”Well, the _call_ itself went relatively well – after our mandatory ´pleasantries´ – but, yeah, Fury said there was nothing he could do at this point of time; he said that everyone from the medical division has been ordered to help the injured agents back at the 'carrier, and that they are sending the critically wounded back to the ground facilities as we speak, meaning that the med teams here have their hands full of patients too.” Tony spoke as you made your way to there where he stood, feeling how your stomach dropped at the revelation. You stopped to stand next to him and he turned his head to look at you:  
”I'm sorry, Kira.”

”Yeah, I know. Thanks anyway, y'know, for asking.” you said, trying to muster a smile onto your face as you looked back at Tony, but only managing to form a half-smile that couldn't quite reach your eyes. Tony gave your shoulders a one-armed hug before the two of you started to head towards the living room. As the two of you were walking, you remembered you had to put your gloves back on again, since you _definitely_ didn't want anyone else to know that your right hand was artificial one. You pulled out the bundled up pair of black leather from their pocket and then continued to pull them on your hands.

 

After you had completed your little task, Tony, sounding uncomfortable and kind of looking like it (as he scratched the back of his neck with his right hand), decided he had to share another piece of information he had regarding the call:  
”So, uh, before we ended our conversation, Fury made a suggestion to ask if Banner would be up to it to take a look of your injuries.”

A wave of coldness cascaded over your being at his words, making you to halt abruptly. Tony was quick to pick up about what was wrong, noticing your now wide eyed expression in what had to be a new record, and he immediately lifted his hands up, palms open and turned towards you in a calming gesture. He then hurried to continue:  
”Okay, so, I sense that what I said was obviously _not_ something you _wanted_ to hear, so, uh, let me continue, okay? Though Patchy said what he said, he also said he would understand it _perfectly well_ if you weren't comfortable to uh, let a guy you barely know touch you, even if he _would_ be a doctor, and yeah, I _kind of_ let him hear my opinion regarding that matter too, so.”

You let out the breath that you hadn't realized you had been holding before subconsciously wrapping your arms around your midsection.

”So, well, we ended the call after Fury promised to send Dr. Wilson down here as soon as it was possible, so, yeah. We'll do what you feel comfortable to do, Kira.” Tony finished his rambling speech before lowering his hands down to his sides. He looked pretty much as uncomfortable about the situation as you felt like, and you knew you had to say _something_ regarding the matter sooner rather than later.

 

”I... okay. Thanks for telling me this, Tony. Now I uh, now I know what the options are, and, um, I'm going to have to think about what I want to do next for sure. I, uh, I think I _do_ need to see a doctor within the next twenty four hours or so, so... yeah.” you spoke quietly before worrying your lower lip in thought. Tony nodded lightly before stepping closer to you and patting your better shoulder gently with his right hand. You lifted your eyes to look up at him and he gave your shoulder a light squeeze as his whole face lit up into a tender smile.

”Whatever you decide, know that I will support you and will be right by your side if you want me to be, honey.” Tony said and almost made you to burst into tears again. You gave him a wavering smile and a nod before he let go of your shoulder. He took a step to the side before taking a deep breath, saying:  
”I guess we should go and meet up with the rest of the gang before they start to riot in our living room or something.”

You hummed in agreement and soon the two of you were moving along the corridor again. You two were so close to the living/lounge room now that you were able to see the doorway, and as the distance grew shorter, you found yourself wondering in your mind as to what kind of dish they would serve in the restaurant where all of you were heading soon.

”Tony, do you know what shawarma is?” you finally asked as your little group reached the doorway.

”Honestly, I have _no idea_ what it is, but I wanna try it anyways.” the genius answered with a grin and you snorted at his expression, not even giving a damn if someone at the lounge heard it or not.

”Jesus, Tony...” you shook your head in amusement, feeling relieved that you could still feel joy after everything that had happened during the past forty-eight hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Two_ new chapters in _one_ month!? _Impossible!_
> 
>  
> 
> [anyway, enjoy, I guess?]


	40. On our way (to shawarma!)

Several pairs of eyes turned to look at the two of you the instant you and Tony stepped into the lounge room. You noticed, as your gaze swept across the room, that four of the five people who had been waiting for you two had found themselves a place to sit and rest; Clint and Natasha were still more-or-less sitting on the same couch where you had last seen them be whereas both the Captain and the Doctor were occupying two of the three armchairs there were in the semicircular sitting area. The Doctor looked considerably more tired than the Captain did, although you were more than sure that he, too, would hit the dreamland as hard as the good ol' Doc would if given the opportunity. You were also a hundredth percent sure that the archer and the redhead were only _masking_ their tiredness, assuming that they were trained to do so in order to deceive their targets/opponents (they were freaking _assassins_ after all).

Thor was the only one beside you and Tony who was standing as his large self was staring out of the main window, which was, y'know, _shattered into shards_ ( _gee, thanks a lot, Loki!_ ). The Asgardian had a solemn expression over his face though he still managed to look regal as his red, slightly tattered, cape was pillowing behind him in the _almost_ gentle breeze blowing through the aforementioned window.

 

”Are you all ready for our fine dining experience?” Tony asked, easily slipping into his (patented) ´good host´-mode. Now everyone turned their attention towards you and him, and you had to mentally stomp down the feeling of awkwardness that the sudden attention managed to bring up.

”I'd guess, since, y'know, we've been waiting for the past _twenty minutes_ for the two of you to get back here.” the archer – _Clint_ – said from the couch, earning a glare from his partner. Tony waved a hand dismissively at his whine, saying:  
”We Starks always show up _fashionably_ late, even from our own damn parties.”

Before Clint was able to come up with a comeback, the Captain – _Steve_ – stood up from his chair, ending the bickering before it had the chance to grow:  
”We're all glad that you two could make it here as quickly as you were able to.”

Steve looked both of you jovially and you offered him a tired nod in return.

”Aye, it is good that our team of warriors is back together again!” Thor, forgetting to use his, uh, _indoor_ voice, exclaimed from where he was still standing, though now he was facing the rest of you all.

”Great! So, are we good to go then? Hawkguy, can you walk with that monster of a cast or do I have to order you a wheelchair?” Tony talked a mile a minute again as everyone started to make themselves ready for the trip to the diner.

”For your information, _Shellhead_ , this isn't the first time I have had to walk with an improvised cast!” Clint told matter-of-factly to which Natasha commented with a tiny head tilt:  
”Budapest _was_ one hell of a ride, wasn't it, Clint?”

” _Again_ with the Budapest...” Tony muttered under his breath whilst completely disregarding Clint's comment. There was a light smirk playing on Natasha's lips at Tony's remark, and suddenly it dawned to you; she was _purposefully_ dropping the B-word into the conversation just for shits and giggles, and, just like that, she somehow started to look more human in your eyes, making you feel more at ease.

 

The archer decided to make a point to show then as to _how well_ he was able to use the cast by heaving himself up from the cushions, and although he swayed a fraction when he got into a standing position, he still looked triumphantly back at Tony, who merely rolled his eyes at his antics.

Your attention was drawn back to Tony when he addressed the whole team again after the harmless banter with the team's archer:  
”Alright, everyone! If we're all ready, I'd suggest you all should follow me and Sully to the elevators so that we can get this party started!”

”Aye, show us the way, Lady Sully and friend Stark!” Thor said enthusiastically while lifting his right hand into the air as if he was holding his hammer up. The rest of the gang uttered their agreement with a bit more _composed_ manner than Thor, yet no-one had the heart to tell him to tone down both his voice and his enthusiasm.

Tony turned his attention back to you when everyone had gathered closer to the two of you:  
”Shall we?”

Tony was offering you his right arm while giving you a warm smile, and you looped your own left hand around it while returning the smile:  
”Yeah, let's do this thing, Tony.”

 

You and Tony led the way side by side whereas the rest of the group followed in no set formation, the assassin twins keeping the tail since Clint couldn't move all that fast, thanks to the unorthodox cast (a/n: that kinda rhymed, hah). Steve walked a couple of steps ahead of Natasha and Clint while Thor and Bruce were situated just behind you and Tony, they were walking nearly side by side, the Doctor falling only about half a step behind the Asgardian.

”Are we intending to use the private lift that Clint and I used when we first came here, Tony?” Steve asked from his place when you walked past the kitchen. You both turned briefly to look at him before Tony shrugged a shoulder:  
”We _could_ use that one, or then again, we could also use the cargo lift which has more room for everybody, the other one tends to become, uh, _too_ crowded if there are more than four people inside.”

A subtle shiver ran through the genius after that, and you knew without asking that he _still_ felt slightly miffed (and frankly, _horrified_ ) regarding the ´incident´ with the ´sweaty workmen´ who had, at the time, thought it had been a great idea to load the cargo lift with marble tiles and use the private elevator to get the guys all the way up to the highest levels of the Tower. And it _had_ worked, dare I say _splendidly_ , until Tony happened to call the elevator to fetch him from his workshop level, and, well, let's just say he wasn't all that impressed to travel inside a metal box with not two, nor three, but with _five_ other guys who were heading down after a busy day of laying heavy tiles across the whole lounge room floor.

”Then I think the cargo lift will do just fine.” the Captain said with a nod and you heard agreeing hums from behind yourself.

 

Silence fell over the team after that, and it wasn't long before you had reached your destination. The wall in front of your group looked smooth, there were no indications that the elevator was, in fact, behind the contemporary-looking paneling, but you and Tony knew it was there, hence he asked you to open the invisible door:  
”You wanna do the honors, Sully?”

You flashed him a quick grin before unhooking your arm from around his, and you said nonchalantly:  
”Well, since you asked nicely...”

Truth be told, you absolutely _loved_ the technology behind the opening system of the cargo lift doors, it was so _sci-fi_ and futuristic, so _Star Trek_ -esque that it always managed to cheer up your spirits whenever you felt down.

”Stark, is this gonna work like the guillotine doors from one of the Star Wars movies?” Natasha asked, sounding a bit unimpressed while you removed the glove from your left hand. Tony crossed his arms against his chest and said (while sporting a shit-eating grin):  
”You'll see, Romanoff, you'll see...”

”Star Wars?” Steve asked puzzled while looking between you, Tony and Natasha, but before anyone get to answer him, you had already placed your hand against the wall. The place where your hand rested lit up with soft blue glow, and when you removed your hand in order to pull the glove back on, a barely audible _whirr_ sound was being heard before a little over four feet wide and a little over eight feet tall section of the paneling sank around two inches inside before _swish_ ing to the left, disappearing inside the wall. Everyone looked impressed (yes, _even Natasha_ showed some wonder, believe it or not) as they witnessed the unveiling of the cargo lift while you and Tony smiled proudly at their expressions.


End file.
